


Super Nova

by Panacea_Z



Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Dimension, Alternate World, Brooding, Dimension Travel, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Little bit of smut, Love Triangle, POC OC, Person of Color Main Character, Pining, Slow Burn, WIP, but OC romances Edward, let's help Bella get better, oh so much brooding, ok maybe more idk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:35:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 32,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26088790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Panacea_Z/pseuds/Panacea_Z
Summary: Alia Lee is a POC girl from our world who saves a mysterious fox one terrible stormy night, and falls into an alternate dimension where she is in the world of Twilight. She meets the Cullen family, who rescues her, several months before Bella joins the story and finds herself confused, scared, and wondering if she's about to screw up one of the most iconic (for better or worse) love stories of the mid 2000's.Can she get home? Does she want to anymore? Find out in my full leap into the garbage can! Love ya xoxo.
Relationships: Alice Cullen/Jasper Hale, Bella Swan/Original Female Character(s), Carlisle Cullen/Esme Cullen, Edward Cullen/Bella Swan, Edward Cullen/Original Female Character(s), Emmett Cullen/Rosalie Hale, Mike Newton/Jessica Stanley
Comments: 71
Kudos: 125
Collections: A Collection of Beloved Inserts





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Does anyone even want this LOL - hell with it I'm writing it anyway! Please let me know your thoughts and comments!

~ Prelude ~

Alia Lee was walking through a downpour to head home. She was in her best dress, a tight black number with black boots and her finest lingerie underneath it all. It was supposed to be “fuck your ex and let’s go out drinking with the girls feeling good” night, and it ended up being the “find out your best girl is fucking your ex” night. Not even three drinks in and her evening left a sour taste in her mouth - and it wasn’t the shots of Sourpuss. 

It was barely even 10:30PM on a Thursday when she left, the girls yelled in alarm and she told them it was only a ten minute walk back to her aunt’s house where she could crash. Her aunt was the alibi for the evening for her parents would flay her alive if they knew what she was wearing and where she was, Alia thanked the gods for her aunt’s candor. 

Her clothes were soaking wet, right through her long trench coat that went down past her knees, she kind of enjoyed looking like a serial killer and hoped it was enough to keep the night time creeps away. She clenched her keys between her fingers in her pocket as a precaution regardless. Her head slightly spun, but in the night her lizard brain took over and she walked at a brisk pace, assuredly with purpose, looking around her in all directions. 

She tried to stop thinking about her best friend, Ashley, who was now apparently hooking up with her ex and found her mind wandering ridiculously. She had just read Midnight Sun (the decade long awaited book in the Twilight series) - her guilty pleasure as she was a huge closet Twilight fan in her early teens and it brought her the feeling of joy, the occasional cringe, and heavy nostalgia. Books were her constant companion and she cherished escaping into them. Her Twilight phase had taken a break through middle school but she had graduated high school now, a fresh nineteen year old and fallen back into old habits and found herself enjoying the awkward obsessive love story of Bella and Edward once more. It was insane and obsessive but wouldn’t it be nice to have a happy ending like that, for better or worse? She thought wistfully. A fond smile crossed her lips and then she felt her phone vibrate.

She read the text and the smile disappeared from her face: _Alia, I am so so so sorry. Pls frog me, it hppned so quick. Thomas is sry tooo._

A second vibration appeared with the following text: _*frog_

A third: _*forgive….holy shit my spelling sucks. I’m so sorry Alia :(_

She might laugh if she wasn’t so infuriated. Alia just about chucked her phone over the bridge and into the water but restrained herself. Suddenly she heard a mewling sound below her, in the underpass. It sounded like a hurt animal, her heart tugged at the sound and her lizard brain went into overdrive - NO!

She wrestled at the thought of going into an underpass at night by herself and leaving the poor creature and she could not find it in herself to abandon the animal. She dialed 911 into her phone and had her keys ready in the other hand and very carefully walked around the bridge and close to the river. The rain was coming so hard her skin was numb from the cold. 

There was no one in sight as she approached the sound. Many episodes of crime dramas rattled through her head, perhaps it was just a recording device and the killer was waiting to snatch her, the thought made her death grip her keys. She proceeded to picture the appropriate places to punch an attacker to cause the most damage. She all but ran to the sound, and there she saw a coyote, no a fox - just a very large fox. The animal watched her intently with it’s glowing eyes as she crouched and approached it slowly. 

It made an agitated sort of growl when she turned the flashlight on her phone, and almost ran when she brought her hand close. There was a rusty nail sticking through it’s paw. She cringed slightly at the sight but cooed to the animal with a very slow approach. 

“It’s okay, I’m just gonna remove this, please don’t bite me I cannot get rabies...Why the hell am I even doing this? It’s okay shhh…”

She inched closer to the creature, her shoes almost slipped a few times in the muddy soil, she heard the river raging beside her and thought she should go before it rose any further, the water was becoming dangerous. 

She tentatively held her hand close to the fox’s face, and did not feel the fox getting any more agitated, it must have been the pain. It sniffed her hand and looked away, almost as if saying she was allowed. So she set her phone and keys down on the grass, and put it’s paw in one hand and the nail in the other and gave a quick pull. The animal screeched and it jumped away, she startled and almost slipped into the water. 

She held her hand to her heart, “Holy Jesus, I need to get sober, what am I doing?”

She stood and within a second she saw the fox dart towards her and jump, she yelled and stumbled backwards into the river. 

Alia waited for the cold splash that would drag her under and quite possibly be her demise when she felt herself falling for too long, she looked around her and saw a strange tunnel of swirling black and tendrils of shadowy blues. Her palpitations thudded in her ears and she swore she may be having a heart attack or a hallucination, her screams echoed down the chasm she fell into - approaching what seemed to be her impending death.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alia wakes up in a very strange yet eerily familiar place. Will she lose her shit or accept the drastic turn of events?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright here's our actual dive in to this alternate dimension story, let me know what you think :) 
> 
> This is pretty fun actually so I hope someone out there enjoys this story nobody asked for :D

The blackness devoured me and my body was in pain. For a moment I felt suspended in the air like a cloud and wondered if this was true death. 

A numbness suddenly washed over me like no other, a balm and I felt my spirit settle into my body. 

“The morphine should help her pain,” said a voice, soft and concerned. “Where did you find her?”

“She washed up in the water while Emmet and I hunted. We couldn’t trace her scent from any single point in the lake or forest,” said another voice, harder yet more boyish. 

They continued to speak but I was concentrating on moving my body, it was like sleep paralysis, something I only dealt with a handful of times and my heart dropped at the fear of never moving my body again.

I fought for my senses to return and sluggishly opened my eyes. There was a cool fluorescent light in my face and I slowly moved my head around to see where I was. 

The room was blurred in my vision, but the walls were metallic, it looked silver. I heard the voices around me stop speaking and silence overtook the room. 

I squinted and lifted a hand to my eyes, and rubbed them. It was nearly orgasmic, I felt as if my body were in a strange suspension for days and bringing myself into focus felt euphoric. I could feel my senses slowly returning, and the pain was only a far away annoyance. 

I blinked several times and focused on the two in the room with me. One was a tall blonde man, he was quite pale and looked like a model - almost frighteningly flawless and yet his demeanor radiated calm and patience. The other one was extremely beautiful, in a younger way, and his reddish brown hair was tousled perfectly and- it couldn’t be…I almost laughed at the thought. No it was insane. 

My breath hitched in my throat as they came closer to me, I laid on a stretcher of some kind and saw the sheet over my body praying I wasn’t naked. 

“Hi, my name is Dr. Carlisle Cullen, and we are taking care of you. You were badly hurt and I need to know what your name is.” His voice was smooth and kind, purely caring. 

My brain went into madness and yet I couldn’t ignore what was right in front of me. “My name is Alia Lee, I’m nineteen years old and I have no idea what’s happening.” It was a tempered recitation, as if I were in a gameshow. I very well might be.   
The younger one, at this point my heart stuttered at the thought of it being Edward Cullen, looked at me with a crease in his brow. I looked away at the intensity of his gaze and wondered if this was what the endless passages in the book were regarding. It was entirely unique to witness him in reality - but then again what on earth had I smoked or done to witness this as reality? Perhaps I fell on a heroin needle and would wake up with an awful come down. That made more sense, I settled into myself at this idea of a bad trip to lessen the pounding of my heart and curtail my anxiety. 

“It’s good that you remember your name Alia, now do you remember what happened before you fell into the water?” Carlisle said. 

I tried getting up but my elbow slipped from the morphine drowsiness and the one who I thought was Edward jumped over to catch my upper body, he transported himself at inhuman speed and I heard Carlisle click his tongue. Carlisle stared at maybe Edward with a gentle but intense look and I had a feeling there was a separate conversation occurring that I was not privy to. 

“Thank you,” I said to maybe Edward and rested my head back down to speak to Carlisle. “I don’t know what happened, one minute I was helping a fox get a nail out of its paw and the next I fell into a river? All I remember is falling for a very long time, and now here I am. This has to be a dream, this can’t be real.”

“You must have had some cranial trauma, I’d like you to stay here for a few days if that’s alright until we figure out what’s going on. Is there anyone you’d like to call?” He said. 

Maybe Edward glanced up at Carlisle with a fiery black eyed gaze and I wondered if he would hold me as a prisoner. I almost scoffed at the predictability of his character but then remembered even if this was a dream - I didn’t want to piss off a houseful of vampires and end up with a nightmare. 

“Edward, why don’t you go finish your...previous activities and come back later,” Carlisle said. 

He glanced at me one more time with a curious gaze and I tried not glaring at him. Dream or not, it wasn’t my fault I got dragged out of a lake. Sorry my heroin trip interrupted your hunting Edward! He left and I felt myself relax a little. I was on edge but the morphine was keeping me calm. 

“As I was saying, is there anyone I can contact for you?” Carlisle said. 

I thought about it briefly, if this was a dream as vivid as it was I may as well play along and be responsible. I almost laughed thinking what my parents actually would do if they found out I not only went out to the bar with my friends but then ended up in a random town in Washington. 

“My parents' names are Lalita and Ajay Lee,” I said. “We live in Vancouver, Canada…” I continued to give Carlisle my home address and postal code. 

He glanced at me questioningly, “You’re quite far away from home Alia, I’m sure they must be worried sick.”

“You’re right about that, if they proceed to give death threats on the phone please tell them I’m fine enough for them to kill me when they get here.”

He smiled at this. “Don’t worry, I’ll contact them right away. In the meantime get some rest, we’ll bring you something to eat and I’ll check on your morphine drip in a couple hours.”

I could feel my mind wandering back to the realm of sleep and I nodded with a small “thanks” emerging from my lips as I drifted. My eyes felt heavy and I wondered where I would wake up next. In Hogwarts perhaps? Or aboard the USCSS Nostromo? I smiled thinking about fighting Aliens like Ripley and fell into a deep sleep.

My dreams were filled with flamethrowers and face huggers and took a turn when I was just waking up. I thought I saw a figure in the room, my eyes fluttered open and there was no one there. The room was the same aluminum looking space I woke up in previously and my head swam while my bones ached. 

Carlisle was there in moments with maybe Edward behind him. “Alia, how are you feeling?” He asked me this when I could tell he wanted to say something else, his tone was carefully constructed enough to reveal the tension. 

“I’m feeling slightly better, my body feels like a truck fell on it but other than that I really need to just go to the washroom and eat something?” The latter was more of a request. 

“Of course, we will get you something to eat right away, let’s start off on soups to take it easy on your body okay?” Carlisle said, and upon seeing me nod, got to what he truly wanted to say. “I understand you gave me your parents' names and address Alia, however, we have searched extensively through our channels and there is no record of a Lalita or Ajay Lee - your address is home to a manufacturing facility. It’s not a residential area. I’m sorry Alia.” He hesitated for a moment, looking more serious, “what’s more is that, we looked you up in the system - and there is no record of you anywhere. On a purely record basis - you don’t exist.”

I started laughing, I couldn’t help myself. This dream was reaching maddening proportions and had gone on too long. My hangover vanished but I felt the surreality drip over me, one drop at a time, continuously. It was beginning to feel stifling. With all the strength I had, I lifted myself, slowly to avoid the head rush this time. Then I swung my legs over the bed, and hopped on to the floor. I ripped off the needles and swayed, maybe Edward was beside me in less than a second.

“Alia, you have to rest, your body is still recovering from your injuries,” he said, holding me up. 

“No, none of this matters. I’m not real, you’re not real, I just want to wake up now!” I pushed him away, and he let me go - though I knew it was by choice as he was more than capable of forcing me to stay. 

I climbed up the stairs and opened the door, I was in the basement of the Cullen house. That was new, something they never showed or talked about. Huh, I briefly wondered what they did in that laboratory looking room but shook my head. Again, none of it mattered anyways! I was clearly having a psychotic break of some kind and waiting for my heroin comedown. 

I was two steps away from the door when maybe Edward appeared in front of me. 

“What are you doing?” He said curtly. 

“I’m leaving, you have all been so kind and I appreciate the help but I need to leave now and wake up,” I said. 

From his face I could tell he was trying to read my mind, I felt a subtle pressure on my head and saw him mouth the word ‘heroin’ with an incredulous look on his face.

“Stop trying to read me! And unless you plan to kidnap me, I’m going to walk out that door right now.”

He froze at my outburst and let me walk past him. Good. I was so done with this dream. I wondered what it would take to wake myself, I swayed down the steps and into the woods. My head became clearer with every breath of fresh air, I felt my strength - at least half of it - return with every step outside. The crisp air started to clear my thoughts and I started running, I was barefoot and knew this would look insane to the Cullens - regardless of them being dream characters or vampires - but I kept going. My feet were cut and I felt myself bleeding but I could not stop running. It was only when I tripped over a log did I pause to check myself. 

“What the fuck is happening…” I said aloud on my knees. 

That was when I saw the fox. It hopped up onto the log and it’s eyes were level with mine. I stared into its gaze for a long time, it merely stared at me with a knowing look that I couldn’t decipher. 

“Did you bring me here? Is this real?” I said. Upon saying so, it began to dawn on me, that my arms and legs hurt greatly, and the cuts and scrapes were raw and painful. It was too much for a dream, and the depth of pain was well beyond a wake up pinch. 

I suddenly received visions, I was not sure what else they were as I had not thought of them myself. They appeared in my mind as this fox stared at me intently. I saw myself crying in my room, with Midnight Sun at my bedside. Reading texts from Ashley, reading texts from Thomas. Then I was helping the fox on that rainy night. 

“Did you send me here, as a thank you?” I asked the fox. I was knee deep in crazy town anyway. 

It stared back at me.

“You thought because I was thinking about Twilight that I wanted to come here? Throw away my entire life and be here?” I asked, my voice reaching a higher pitch. 

It stared at me with a slight mewl coming out of its mouth. 

“I can’t believe this! Send me back!” 

The fox mewled again and licked my hand. I wondered if it was some version of a sorry until it scampered away. 

“Wait! Get back here! I need to go home please!” I tried getting up to run but all my strength failed me. 

There I was, ass deep now in crazy town in the middle of the woods. I had no shoes and my stomach rumbled fiercely. All I could think about was how much I missed my parents. All I wanted at this moment was to eat my mom’s eggplant curry and rice.

Hot tears fell from my eyes as I cried and cried. I held myself and sobbed loudly, the shudders came from deep in my lungs as I wept. 

I barely noticed the faint wind on my cheek. A hand came into view, it was maybe Edward. I looked at him through blurry tear soaked eyes and saw a somber look on his face. Similar to Carlisle’s softer gaze. 

“I’m Edward Cullen, I’m the one who found you. And I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now, but please come back to the house. Carlisle will help you get better, and we are going to help you get through this.” He reached out his hand to me once more. 

I sighed and played the last few moments in my head. The morphine, the fox, the pale faces, the woods. The surreal dream, the real itself. The fox. There was a heaviness in my chest, as if someone laid a boulder on me. Though, I took his hand and for a moment, felt a little lighter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alia's following week at the Cullen house, comparing literature with Edward...and things are getting a little interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning - bashing of Wuthering Heights in this chapter. NO REGRETS. Jane Eyre ftw!
> 
> Hope you enjoy this short instalment, I have the other chapters in queue so hopefully this should be a steady update. 
> 
> I really appreciate the kudos I've received after the first couple chapters, thank you for reading and let me know your feelings the comments, love ya xoxo.

It had been a total of seven days that I was in the Cullen house. Thankfully, they moved me to a spare bedroom where I could look out the glass and into the forest instead of the metal basement walls. 

I was keeping to myself and met the rest of the family over the days. Esme was similar to Carlisle and though she had caution in her eyes initially, her arms were full of care and goodwill towards me. Jasper stayed true to his nature and remained the furthest possible distance from me, he would nod occasionally when we encountered one another or say good day or good night in his smooth southern accent. Emmet seemed to be intrigued by me, as if I were a new toy that was received in their home. I stayed clear of him since his size and wide grins convinced me that I would be killed straight away but he maintained an acceptable distance. I was all but ready to receive Rosalie’s famous disdain, and for the most part she viewed me as a pest, though she kept to herself more and refrained from any interaction with me. Alice was the one that surprised me the most, I expected her to jump in my arms excitedly or converse with me at mach five speeds. But when I first met her, she looked at me almost angrily. I felt a pressure on my head and she stopped her intense gaze. She blinked a few times, gave me a hollow smile and flitted away. 

Carlisle came to check on me everyday, though due to his work it was Edward that watched me throughout the day. They allowed me my privacy - as much as a house that had eighty percent windows would allow, but Edward would knock on my door at least a few times a day to bring me meals and medicine. 

Today I was in bed and was reading one of Edward’s books, Jane Eyre. He seemed to contain nothing from the last fifty years other than classics and before I could roll my eyes at his seemingly pretentious taste I heard a knock on the door. 

He brought me my afternoon meds and a plate with a sandwich and some chips. “Lunch is served,” he said with a tight smile. 

“Are you sure you don’t need to be going to school or something? I can make a sandwich myself Edward,” I said. 

“You don’t like the room service?”

“Of course I appreciate it, though I feel as though I’m imposing by putting you to work. You don’t have to baby me,” I said. 

He looked at me intently for a moment and then out the window. “You are no baby, and yet we find you drowning in a lake with nothing to your name.”

A flash of anger went through me. “Well it’s not my fault I ended up here! And as soon as Carlisle deems me well enough I’ll get out of your hair.”

He glared at me openly. “Why would you leave? You have no money, no identity, and nowhere to go. You don’t even remember anything beyond your accident. No, you can’t leave.”

I sighed, frustrated at our path of conversation. His cryptic way of speaking annoyed me to no end. “Edward, I’ve lost everything I had and now I’m dependent on a group of strangers. I appreciate everything you all do, but I can’t help but feel like a massive burden and yet I’m stuck because everything you said is true, so no, I can’t really leave right now.” My voice became exasperated at the end of my rant and I slouched my shoulders. “I may not remember who I am, but living as a leech is making me a little uneasy.”

He scoffed suddenly. “You think you’re the leech, how ironic.”

I rolled my eyes. “Being a vampire doesn’t make you a leech Edward.” We had the vampire talk on day two of my accident. It was the only detail I revealed that I knew of them. While I did not wish to alter the path of events in any way, I could hardly be under the same roof as them with such a huge secret. My explanation was that I read legends and researched it long ago for a school project and deduced it like a true genius. They took it quite well seeing that I was kept alive. 

“Letting us help you doesn’t make you a leech either Alia,” he said. 

“Then can we agree today that nobody is a leech and I’ll eat my sandwich,” I said. I took a bite and wrinkled my nose at the faint flavour of pig. “Ah, Edward, I don’t eat pig for future reference, sorry.” I picked at the chips. 

He apologized too many times and I told him to relax. “Don’t worry about it, you didn’t know. It’s not like you can read my mind,” I teased. 

He gave me a look. “I can pick up a word or two if I really concentrate you know, or if you let your guard down.”

I pursed my lips, “I guess I will always be on guard around you.”

He sat at the edge of my bed and looked at me with a gaze that I could only describe as making me uncomfortable. Perhaps it was nothing and I should only think my ego was taking over in thinking that Edward would be “smouldering” at me but I quickly looked away and threw his copy of Jane Eyre to him. 

“Finished already?” He said.

I shrugged. “I’ve read it before, it’s one of my favourites though. Way better than Wuthering Heights.”

“Oh? Wuthering Heights is one of my favourites,” he said. “Why don’t you like it?”

I shook my head. “You would like Wuthering Heights, of course. It was absolutely terrible! Reading about the most vile people for over four hundred pages drove me mental. They were both awful and I honestly just grit my teeth through the whole thing. Those two can go to hell and continue their antics there,” I said, passion layered on my voice. Once I got started on my favourite - or least favourite books - it was quite difficult to stop the ranting. “Now Jane Eyre on the other hand, oh it was so amazing. She overcomes her faults and despite her love for Mr. Rochester, she makes the right choice for her. No matter what the situation, she always stuck to her values, self respect, and dignity. I got mad respect for Jane.”

I heard a cough and realized that Edward was laughing at me. He was laughing so hard that for a moment I mistook him for a human.

“Remind me to never again ask you about your opinions on Wuthering Heights - you have displaced my feelings for that book. But I do agree, Jane Eyre...she’s a mindful choice. Better to follow the one who does not fall into temptation,” he said, and winked. The bastard winked at me. Was he flirting?

I decided not to engage that route any further. “Well, you better read some new material or else I’m going to start thinking that you have no respect for modern literature.”

He knew the rant was going to start before I did.

“If all you read are classics, you will have no understanding of the world today or other perspectives. There are so many stories out there, so many diverse tales that will move you and show you new outlooks. Classics are classics and always will be, however, I believe there is value and timelessness in any good book - from any era. Also, sci fi kicks ass, you need more of that on your shelf too.”

He grinned at me widely and conceded. “Okay okay, Alia has spoken, my choices are dry and boring and I need more...perspective...in my life.” He looked up my body and into my eyes with his statement. The golden flecks in his eyes were quite distracting. Shit.

I raised my brow in the most condescending way I could. “Just in your books.” Then I slid off the bed and walked into the bathroom shutting the door. May the spirit of Jane be with me.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice approaches Alia with some hard truths, and the Cullens return from a hunt. Edward reveals a story from his past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for this chapter, there’s some drug related conversations. Nothing too heavy, but marijuana and opiate usage.
> 
> Thank you for sticking around, I have some fun things planned so hope you enjoy! ♥️

It took another week for my injuries to completely disappear and I felt good. After so long I was starting to feel like myself again. I took a long bath and gazed at myself in the mirror, the bruising was gone and my skin retained it’s even brown complexion again. My long black hair flowed down to my lower back and would dry into the loose frizzy curls that usually rested on my head. My golden nose ring sat on the left side of my face as I adjusted it to hide the ball, my eyes were as dark as a thirsty vampire - I smiled at my private joke. My eyebrows were very thick and I realized I’d need to tweeze them soon, I suddenly wondered if thick brows were becoming fashion in Forks yet. Once Instagram hit the market they’d be everywhere soon enough. What a pleasant surprise it was once the pencil thin brows of the nineties went out of style to suit the thickness that I was born with and mostly made fun of in childhood. Trends lift one up to tear the other down I supposed, an unfortunate cycle. I dressed myself and made my way into the kitchen. 

They were fine enough with me fending for myself after I mentioned how uncomfortable I was about Esme and Edward constantly serving me, so I cooked my own meals and was allowed to use the kitchen as I wished. 

It was a place they hardly entered. I felt like Rachel Ray or Emeril, and found myself saying “bam” whenever I threw salt into the pot. Their kitchen was stacked with stainless cookware, black marble countertops, a convection oven, an immaculate stovetop, and Japanese cutting knives. I smiled at the unused decadence of it all and shook my head with a smile, vampires. 

I was making steak, just for me and my lonesome. I almost felt bad that the Cullens were purely blood drinkers since my steak recipe was something to be reckoned with. My parents loved when I cooked steak for them. 

There and then, as soon as I thought about it, the gnawing pain of missing my parents and friends came back to me. I tried to avoid thinking about it. A few times a week I would wander into the forest and look for the fox, I even contemplated jumping into the lake to see if it might work. Though I’m too much of a coward to do that. Perhaps one day I can sum up the courage to make myself actually do it. 

The self hatred bubbled up again and my appetite was now ruined. I hated wasting food, however, and forced myself to eat every single bite. Shattered life or not, I was living quite privileged right now and had no right to throw it away. Perhaps I could’ve been transported to another vampire universe, like 30 Days of Night or Blade where there was no remorse for bloodshed and I would’ve been eaten alive. I laughed at myself, of course in my screwed up self loathing episode I would find a way to give myself a lecture on not appreciating what I had. Was there a therapist in Forks? Then I thought better, realizing any good therapist would put me on mind numbing meds and ship me to the nearest mental hospital after hearing my fucked up story.

“Deep in thought?” 

I looked up to see Alice perched on the kitchen counter. She looked at the fat of the cooked steak I cut off and wrinkled her nose. 

I forced a smile and shook my head, “Nothing much, the usual I suppose.”

She gazed at me and I felt the pressure on my mind again. 

“Alice, I can feel you doing that,” I said. 

During our discussion of my acknowledging they were vampires, they had mentioned that their mental powers did not work on me - mostly. Jasper could subtly affect my mood but it worked less well than he would like and Edward could read a word or two if he concentrated very hard. I secretly wondered if this was a dimensional issue. It made me realize why Alice was being so uncharacteristically cold towards me. I made her as blind as the wolves did. 

“Sorry…” she said. “I just have never had a human I couldn’t see any future of, and now , because of you I’m starting to become blind for everyone’s future. I can see all the outcomes that don’t include you, but anything related to you, I can’t see.”

That was the most she had ever admitted to me or even spoken to me. “I didn’t know...that must truly be awful for you. I’m so sorry.”

She must have sensed the concern in my voice since she suddenly appeared in the chair next to me with earnest eyes. “No, it’s not your fault. I’m sorry I was so rude to you these last couple of weeks. All I’ve ever known was to observe the future and sort through outcomes, but suddenly you come in and blank out everything...I-It scared me. Not knowing, scares me.”

I looked at her with sympathy. “None of us know, if I knew what would happen two weeks ago I never would have fallen into this. But, when you don’t know like the rest of us, you just make the best choices you can in the moment and hope that it’s enough.”

She smiled at me and squeezed my hand. “For what it’s worth Alia, I am happy to know you.”

I grinned at Alice and for the first time, I felt that at this moment, it was enough. 

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

I was sitting at the dining room table when I saw Emmet, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, and Edward return from their weekend hunting trip. Carlisle and Esme were going to hunt the following week. They entered the house and Alice jumped up on the table in front of me and I started. Emmet snorted and I gave him a look. His eyes, and all of their eyes were a piercing fresh gold. 

“The golden is so interesting, do you know what causes the colour change from animal’s blood?” I asked. 

Rosalie glared at me, “trying to get our secrets so you can use them against us?” When everyone else remained silent she haughtily walked out of the room.

Yikes. There she was, I was almost relieved when she scorned me, the world made sense again. For the most part.

Emmet gave me an apologetic look, “Don’t worry about Rose, she just gets concerned when things change.”

“Or when a complete stranger falls from the sky and upends your entire way of life?” I said with a smile. 

He laughed and nodded, “pretty much!” He continued laughing as he went up the stairs after Rosalie. 

Alice lifted up my chin, “Don’t worry about her, she’ll get over it.” 

I smiled at Alice warmly, she was growing on me and I so deeply wanted a friend. “Thanks Alice, so when are we going to the mall?”

She beamed and all but jumped off the table. “Tomorrow afternoon! I’m going to take the day off, you boys can do what you want, but she’s mine tomorrow.” She kissed me on the cheek and ran off with Jasper. My eyes widened in surprise and I couldn’t suppress the smile. 

“You and Alice are getting on quite well it seems,” said a voice abruptly beside me. Edward rested his arm on the table and sat back in his chair, surprisingly casual. A wide smile was on his face. 

I thought of Alice and felt warmth flutter over me. “She’s like the friend I wish I had before,” I said. My thoughts drifted to Ashley and I tried to keep the disdain from my face. 

I could feel Edward’s eyes on me trying to read every expression. I forced myself to become a stone. 

“I see you’re working really hard to hide your thoughts from me again,” he said. “It would be easier if you just gave up since I’m going to get it out of you either way.”

I raised my brows at his nonchalance, “Edward you’re being forward today, what are you high from the blood something?”

He chuckled and admitted, “Actually, we do get a bit of a buzz for about an hour after hunting, doesn’t last long but I suppose it’s the closest feeling to being high for us vegetarians. Why? Have you ever been?” His eyes narrowed jokingly. 

I rolled my eyes and decided to tell him about the time I got high in some guy’s backyard. It was after a houseparty and a group of my friends were doing it, I decided that it was time for me to step out of my comfort zone and try it. “I had too much and felt anxious all night, it wasn’t great,” I said with a laugh. “But I’ve done it a few times after and it was fine. The buzz is alright sometimes.”

I glanced at him to see if he would judge me, he was from a different time after all. I was surprised to see him smiling. “Actually, back when I was human, in the early 1900’s, I have a fleeting memory of when I was younger perhaps around fifteen. I snuck into an opium den with some other boys and got high for the first time, I barely remember it. The owners found us laying in an empty bed and brought in the muscle to kick us out, we ran straight across town. I was so high I barely felt anything. It feels like many lifetimes ago now, but I can tell you it was fucked.” He smirked at me a little. 

“Edward Cullen did you just drop an f bomb,” I said in mock horror. 

We both laughed and he reached over to me to tuck a loose hair behind my ear. I flinched and he frowned. 

“Are there any new students in town?” I asked suddenly.

He looked annoyed at the change of topic for a brief moment then scanned his memory. “I don’t believe so, though I overheard the administrators talking about approving Chief Swan’s daughter for a transfer. Her name is Isabella, she should be here in a month or so. Why?”

I looked away at the trees outside. The porchlight cast a yellow glow on the wood and I wished I were alone to process my heart rate. “No reason, just curious. Isabella...that’s a pretty name.”

Edward looked at me curiously while I didn’t meet his eye. “Yes...I suppose it is.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alia starts her first day of school, and things get a little heated...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have some recommended listening for this chapter! There will be some chapters that I have songs associated with so I’ll list them accordingly :) 
> 
> La Tortura - Shakira 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsp_8Lm1eSk
> 
> ^ song link to Youtube
> 
> Thank you guys for reading! Love ya xoxo

I was in the Volvo with Edward as we drove to school. It was my first day of repeating high school - wonderful. 

I was thinking about the day Esme and Carlisle talked to me about it. We were discussing my options. 

“Honey, I think you should stay with us for a while. We love having you, and it’s about time you get out of the house. In order to do that, we need to come up with a viable story for the public,” Esme said holding my hand. 

Carlisle spoke after, “I’ve arranged for documents for you, so you have a passport, social insurance number, and everything you need to enroll at school with the others. You’re one of us now, I hope you don’t mind. I changed your last name to Cullen to make things easier. Lee is your middle name now.”

I teared up at their kindness. “You all have been so kind, to accept me into your lives and take care of me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your help.” The tears fell from my eyes. 

They both gave each other a meaningful look and smiled at me. Esme put her arms around me. “Oh Alia, you are the best thing to happen to us in a long time, I know that you were suffering and you’ve lost so much, but I can’t help but be thankful to have you. We love you.”

I sniffed and smiled at her. “Thank you Esme, I love you too.”

My daydream was broken when Edward hit the breaks and turned off the engine. “Nervous about your first day of school?” He said with a smirk.

I smiled and shook my head. “Moreso excited, now I can actually ace all my classes like a champ. Maybe I’ll even be cool?”

Edward laughed. “In the Western school system, I think those statements are paradoxical. But it’s better to be a nerd.”

“Spoken by a true nerd,” I said. 

He glared at me playfully. “Now remember, it’s best not to speak to anyone, we tend to keep to ourselves around here.”

We walked in line together as I replied. “So your way of being inconspicuous is to be as mysterious as possible?”

“Well...it’s not ideal, but the more we interact, the more unnatural we are seen as,” he fumbled to explain. 

“Hmmm might I detect an actual hint of laziness, that perhaps it’s just more work for you to seem human and therefore you’d rather just remove yourselves entirely? Though that defeats the purpose of blending in with humans doesn’t it?”

“Does she ever get tired of the ranting?” Emmet said from behind. 

I stuck my tongue out at him. 

“Might I detect a hint of laziness at that comeback Alia?” said Edward trying to keep a straight face.

I heard Alice snicker from behind Emmet and I just shook my head and muttered under my breath knowing they would hear, “you’re a bunch of assholes you know that?”

I decided to spend my first day following their advice, I didn’t want to overstep and change things, like Alice feared. Little did she know I was in the exact same position as she was, I knew the outcome and yet when faced with my interference, had no idea what could happen. I feared it as well and didn’t want to cause problems. In my state of low key I observed the students as we sat at a single table in the cafeteria. 

I kept a neutral expression on my face and noticed people staring, I knew that I looked different from the Cullens not just from the vampire human aspect but I was one of the few racial minorities at the school. That would definitely stir up more questions, though I tried to maintain a stiff air like the rest of them. I found myself gazing into people’s eyes and smiling. I couldn’t help it, the air beamed around me and it was my default setting. 

“Stop smiling at people,” Rosalie hissed at me. “They’re going to feel welcome and come over.”

I rolled my eyes and proceeded to stick out my chin at an attempt to seem cocky and uninviting. “Don’t worry, you’re all unwelcoming enough, but I’ll do my best.”

A quiet chuckle came from Edward’s throat and I suppressed a real smile. 

“I wish I could hear what they were saying,” I said quietly. 

“It’s mostly what you would think,” Jasper said. “Lot’s of homework, somebody has a boyfriend, somebody has a girlfriend, somebody’s going to skip third period...much of the same everyday.”

Edward whispered close to my ear as he was sitting closest to me, “the most fun is what they’re saying in their head.” I felt a shiver go down my spine and ignored it best I could.

When I turned to him expecting some elaboration, he just smiled and zoned out. What a long day this was going to be. 

Edward and I had all the same classes and we sat together for them. I knew I would have to slip away somehow before Bella came and allow them to have their awkward first meeting. I knew what I had to do and yet the thought of it made my heart sink slightly, I pushed it away and thought about other things. 

My options were limited in the small town of Forks, and since I was redoing high school I planned to ace everything to have a do-over. In my real life I did decently well - though to my parents it was never good enough - but it was enough to get into U of BC. I was enrolled in an English degree and planned a minor in creative writing or journalism. I had gotten through my first year with new friends, a break up, and a 3.7 GPA. 

But now as I gazed into the room filled with these high school students the immaturity came in droves. Not that I felt wildly different, but in this age range even a year or two felt a difference to me and I wondered how the Cullens even managed to acclimate to this. Their cold removal made a little more sense to me, though I still didn’t entirely agree with it. I wondered why they didn’t simply redo university and take different degrees each time - that would be extraordinary. Then I realized I would be the nerd, always and forever, the cool was never going to happen. 

“Why are you smiling like a crazy person Alia?” Edward whispered to me as the teacher wrote a formula on the black board. 

“I’m thinking of funny things that you are unfortunately just not privy to,” I said petulantly. “You’re really missing out, it’s a hoot up in here.”

It was subtle but it almost sounded like a snort. Class ended shortly after and we began walking to the cars when nature called to me and I told Edward I would meet him in the parking lot. On the way to the washroom I couldn’t help but look back at those staring at me and in my solitude I did not exude the unwelcoming look Rosalie would have approved. Someone approached me cautiously. 

A girl with brown hair and an intense smile came up to me. “Hi, I’m Jessica Stanley, so you’re the new Cullen in town huh?”

“Hi Jessica, nice to meet you, yes I’m here from Alaska, a part of the extended family.”

She gave me a once over as if she doubted me for a moment but recovered. “Well don’t be a stranger and welcome to Forks!”

So that was the famous Jessica, she seemed less catty than I remembered reading. If anything she seemed to have an inquisitive stare, as if she might talk you into revealing your secrets. Though her insecurities clouded her true abilities, I believed she’d get over that in later years. 

I recognized the fellow Mike Newton from someone calling out his name in the parking lot, I noticed Edward waiting by the Volvo. Mike eyed me as I walked by and I gave him a casual “hello”. He looked away from me and nodded slightly. I had expected a warmer greeting but thought nothing of it. 

Edward was glaring when I reached his car. “What’s your deal?” I asked. 

His eyes followed Mike as he got into the car and his mouth pressed into a thin line. “Nothing, with this ability sometimes I hear unnecessary garbage.”

I gave him a confused look but let it go. My first day of highschool was a little more tiring than I expected. 

We reached home and I all but threw myself on the bed. A light knock was at my door and I quickly recovered as Esme came in. 

“How was your first day honey?”

“It was good, Edward helped me out with my schedule and I think I can really up my grades with this second chance. Maybe get into a decent school once we graduate, the options are endless...”

“I’m so happy to hear that! Well, tomorrow Alice said it’s going to be sunny the rest of the week so we’re taking the days off. I was hoping you might too. We’re planning a small girls trip and then you can do whatever you like the rest of the week.”

Being the nerd I am, my stomach sank a bit at the thought of already missing so much school, but I knew I could blow them off later and missing the first bit would be better than later in the term. “Okay let’s do it!”

“Lovely, this is going to be really fun. Carlisle and I are going to go hunt. We'll see you tomorrow. Have a good evening honey,” she kissed me on the head. 

I smiled at her blatant habit of treating everyone like a precious child, “Esme you are perhaps the sweetest vampire I’ve ever known and will know.”

She laughed, the sound of bells and sped away.  
Everyone was planning their hunts and other activities for the week off so I decided to close the door and play some music in my room. I began with some soft songs and when my mood became low and I started sniffling I decided to change up the tempo. Sometimes there was no reason to wallow in my sad party and I knew I needed to regulate myself. 

I searched through my carefully curated music selection - an early generation iPod that Alice gave me and found La Tortura by Shakira. It was a sexy song, and it was entirely in spanish. Did I understand a single word other than tortura? No. But did I understand the cadence and lilt of her voice to mean sexy times and belly dancing? Yes. 

I found my body moving to the music all on it’s own, I was by no means a great dancer but I enjoyed moving my body to the beat. I took some general classes as extra curriculars in my first year of University, and learned quickly that anything worked as long as you had fun. 

My hips swayed to the beat as her sultry vocals drifted from her soft low notes to her strength filled high notes. I raised my arms and slid off my sweater and danced in the crop top I had underneath. It was nice to move my body in each and every way, there were no clubs in Forks - at least not any I would want to hang out in. Perhaps I could convince Alice to have a dance party. I checked that thought for later. 

As I continued to sway my body to rhythm of the song, I fell to my knees purposefully and tossed my hair around feeling the groove. I had seen the music video and lifted my hips off the floor in an attempt to bellydance like her, sans the car grease Shakira was covered in. I grinned like a fool but the endorphins kicked in and found myself laughing on the floor caressing my stomach and then twirling my hands in the air. 

I stopped mid hip shake when I looked out the window, there was Edward standing at the edge of the woods. I staggered for a moment and got up slowly. I walked over to the window, we never broke eye contact. He took two steps closer to the house and though he was over twenty feet away I felt waves of heat emanate around me. I noticed blood on his lips, and he wiped across his bottom lip slowly with two fingers, then he put his fingers in his mouth and sucked the blood off, never breaking eye contact with me. I could feel the weight of his gaze on my body. 

For a moment I was rooted into the ground then I forced myself to close my eyes and turn away. My senses rushed back to me as I felt my heart race. What in the fuck was that?

“Oh Alia, go take a shower,” I said to myself.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alia goes on a trip with Alice and Esme.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something witchy this way comes...
> 
> Little bit of smuttiness in this first paragraph btw, otherwise we are slow burning along...
> 
> Thank you so much for the kudos ♥️♥️ Love ya

My dreams after that strange encounter with Edward were troubling. I dreamt of the same scene, but then he crashed through the window and pinned me against the wall. My body angled itself towards him and my legs opened up as I felt his hardness against my thighs. He crushed his lips on mine and his cool tongue danced in my mouth. We grinded against each other until I woke with a start. My nipples were hard and my panties were slick with wetness. I could hardly do anything when I knew the house was full of super hearing vampires. I shuddered at the awkwardness of Esme or Carlisle hearing me have a wank early in the morning. 

I gave a strangled sigh as I thought about dream Edward one last time before allowing myself to wake up and attempt to forget about it. At least today was girls day, I could avoid him until the dream evaporated. I found that some dreams were like a heavy blanket, it weighed on the mind upon waking up but slipped off gradually as the day progressed. 

Cheerios were my go to this morning as I sat in the kitchen, I had a small duffel bag for the short trip and was ready to go after breakfast. Alice and I had gone shopping together a couple of times and in true sugar mama fashion she spoiled me silly. Today I wore ripped blue skinny jeans, red doc martens, and a black and white plaid shirt with a red lace tank top underneath. The top half of my hair was up in a pony while the bottom half was down to lengthen the look. I sprayed and shaped my baby hairs in swirls around my forehead and switched my nose ring to a large diamond stud. 

Edward walked into the dining room and I almost choked on my cereal. I gulped slowly and said, “good morning.”

He kept a neutral expression on his face and said good morning to me. 

“How was the hunt last night?” I said. The words slipped out in my attempt at making small talk and I prayed he wouldn’t bring up what happened. 

“It was fine, same old,” he said in an even tone.

He was being extra cryptic, oh bless Alice and Esme for keeping me company today. I could not deal with whatever brooding storm was below the surface of _that._

“Well...have fun with the boys,” I said. I finished my cereal and rose from the table to put the bowl in the sink. 

I was about to leave when Edward appeared in front of me. I almost stumbled. “Goddamnit Edward can you wear a bell?”

He didn’t laugh and continued to stare at me until he spoke. “Why did you ask me about the Swan girl?”

My heartbeat sped up. _Shit._ I knew he could hear it. “I asked you if there were any new students around, I was hoping to take the ‘new student’ attention off of myself.” He seemed to accept this answer as I breezed by him and walked outside to where Alice and Esme waited by the car. 

“Is Rosalie not joining?” I asked but I knew the answer. 

Esme and Alice looked at each other and shrugged at me. Perhaps being around a human was influencing their mannerisms slightly. Good for them, better blending. 

They led me to the car and I grew suspicious from the secret way they looked at each other. “Okay what are you two hiding?” I said. 

Esme and Alice looked at me from the front seats and smiled in a creepy unison. 

Alice spoke as Esme revved the engine, “were taking you on a little road trip Alia. Rosalie usually doesn’t join us for this specific adventure so don’t worry, she’s gone for a swim with Emmet this week.”

“How long will we be gone?”

“We’ll be back in a couple of days, don’t worry. Edward made sure of it,” Esme said. 

“Edward?” I said, more to myself. Why would he make sure we returned in two days? Tension coiled in my stomach. 

“No more boy talk! We’re headed for Lopez Island,” Alice said with a cheer. 

Just about every safe topic was discussed in the car. Luckily nothing more was brought up about Bella Swan or Edward though I had a feeling Alice would have seen something by now. I was impressed by Esme's driving skills. While Edward enjoyed testing the limits of his engine like he was in a Fast and Furious movie, Esme sped above the limit but enough to be under the radar. It helped that Alice could tell where every cop car was parked. 

They stopped for me a couple of times for bathroom breaks and snacks and Esme insisted we stop at the Valley’s Edge for a photo op. Alice brought her Polaroid camera that looked seriously vintage. I had a feeling it was most likely from the actual eighties. 

“Sure you guys won’t turn invisible?” I joked. 

“Shut up no, but we’re so pale it sometimes looks overexposed,” Alice said and took the photo. She frowned at it once it developed, my skin turned out a slightly lighter brown but visible, but they looked like ghosts. 

“Oh no wonder they call us pale faces…” Esme said. 

“It’s still cute,” I said. 

Almost six hours later, including a ferry ride, we arrived. It seemed that the beautiful lush forests of Forks and Olympic National Park extended all the way, across the water into Lopez Island. The green was a warmer tinge, and the grass rolled along the hills in thick blankets. Alice parked the car in a secluded area, after we passed all the major hiking points. 

“That’s it, I get it now. You guys are going to take me deep into the woods and either A, old yeller style take me out for good, or B, abandon me here so I get lost and never find my way back. Either way sad dog stories are all I’m picturing,” I said. 

Esme and Alice laughed aloud and shook their heads. “No, silly. Now get on my back, it’s a long way up and you’re a bit of a slow poke honey,” Esme teased. 

I chuckled but was unsure. I knew Esme was a vampire but her delicate poise always threw me off. I had packed on a few pounds now that I had a personal kitchen and an unlimited supply of food. She took my hand and crouched while I clambered on. Oddly enough, her back was rock hard, not as uncomfortable as a real statue but more along the lines of rigor mortis. Made sense. 

I hooked my arms around her neck and held tight. She told me to close my eyes and when I opened my mouth to argue that I’d be fine, she started running and a fly went down my throat. I swallowed it and pretended that nothing happened, while trying not to throw up. I kept my head down the rest of the way. 

Within ten minutes we were in a different part of the forest. It felt more alive, more lush. I could feel the deep thrum of a waterfall and the diverse wildlife around us. Birds soared above the canopy of the forest and I heard crickets buzzing at a vivacious frequency.

I was about to hop off of Esme when she held on to me. “Nope not yet honey, are you ready to get a little wet?”

I raised my brows and Alice chuckled. “Keep your hands and feet within the ride at all times, and you may get wet...didn't I mention that?”

“No you didn’t! And I did my hair…” I said woefully. 

Esme held onto my arms in case I slipped, and jumped over forty feet into the air. My heart dropped into my stomach and I closed my eyes and let out a high breathy woo. 

Water poured over me for a fraction of a second with a loud roar, and then we were somewhere significantly darker. I opened my eyes and Esme let me down slowly. It took a couple of seconds from my eyes to adjust. I saw the raging waterfall in front of me, from the inside. We were inside a cave in the waterfall, my jaw dropped in amazement. The bluish white water roared in front of us and echoed through the cave, we had to raise our voices to hear. Or at least I did. 

“Is this where we’re camping?” I yelled. 

“Yes! I brought lanterns and food for you Alia, the caves go on for a while so we can find a quieter place!” Alice yelled. 

Esme passed me a lantern, more of a glorified flashlight, but I held it with a childish sort of excitement. We walked deeper into the caves and felt my senses carefully take in where we were. 

The air smelled damp and musty, but not in an unappealing way. It smelled similar to the lake but in a closed way, and I could occasionally taste the dust and soil in my mouth that floated in the air. The ceiling of the cave was uneven as stalactites hung from the top in an erratic pattern, some areas joined with the stalagmites on the ground. I walked between a formation of stalagmites and ran my fingers across the bumpy damp stone.

“How did you guys find this place? It’s amazing,” I said. The waterfall was now only a distant hum. 

“Alice found this place with Jasper many years ago during their travels,” Esme said. 

“We were searching for places just like this one across the continent,” Alice chimed. 

“You were looking for caves?” I asked. 

“Mmm, something like that,” Alice said. 

She must have taken a page out of Edwards' cryptic book. I sighed and followed as we delved deeper into the darkness. 

We reached a wider cavern with stalagmites and stalactites littered throughout which provided a beautiful and creepy scene. One wrong step and you may find yourself at the least severely concussed or worst, impaled. It was more a thought for myself to tread very carefully. Esme laid a tarp across an open area on the ground and then unrolled the sleeping bags Alice had carried in. I went to my sleeping bag and unzipped it, bless them it had extra soft insulation. 

“Alia if you need the washroom I’ll take you outside in a flash!” Alice said. 

I thanked her for her sensitivity and decided to look around. The lantern cast warm shadows on the cave walls and I walked past the cavern and into a separate tunnel. The cave walls were cracked with age and I ran a hand across the breakage. I noticed markings on the walls, too distinct to be random. I raised my lantern to the right and saw a pattern of scratched hatching that seemed to be in aggressive patterns but was unintelligible to me. The wall scratchings continued down the tunnel which went on past my lamp light. I chose not to proceed any further alone.

“The markings are everywhere, if you know where to look. Long ago there were people that came here, this place holds a very specific energy,” Alice said from behind me. 

My heart nearly leaped out of my chest and I was about to scold her but the seriousness on her face distracted me. “What is it?”

She led me back to the cavern, away from our sleeping bags and we found Esme standing in a strangely symmetrical space. The rock formations grew around what seemed to be a perfectly flat circle on the ground. I had to climb over the rock to get to it, but for it to have formed this way seemed nearly impossible. 

They both looked at me with grave eyes and gestured to me to sit down as they lowered themselves onto the ground and sat cross legged. 

They glanced at each other for a moment and then Esme spoke, “we know that you spend time in the forest looking for something. An animal that you think transported you here from somewhere else. Somewhere beyond,” she said with no judgement in her voice. 

I breathed out slowly and nodded. 

Alice said, “well, Esme and I have a...hobby. We thought that sharing it with you, may help you find out more about what happened.”

My eyes focused on Alice and I became still. 

She continued, “some of us, meaning some vampires, have abilities. And no one really knows where this comes from. Most of us believe it just happens, you take strong abilities you had in your human life and they magnify in your vampire life. However there are those of us,” she glanced at Esme briefly, “that believe in something more. That our abilities come from the earth or the moon, a spiritual energy that ties all living...and dead things together.”

“Like magic?” I said. 

“If by magic you mean an energy that cannot really be explained, then yes. My powers are so volatile and I still don’t know how I got them, so I take trips with Jasper to search for answers. A long long time ago there was a tribe here that practiced...unusual ceremonies. They were ostracized from the other groups and there remains no history on them, I only found enough holes that made me realize it was done on purpose. These people had abilities, but they weren’t vampires or wolves. They were something other.”

“Did any of them have the ability to transport through different dimensions?” I said. My voice was a whisper. 

“That is harder to tell. So far I’ve only found information on how to tap into the source, not how to move through it,” Alice said. Her eyes were twinking. 

“Wait, what do you mean you can tap into the source?” I asked. 

Esme grinned, she was already young however in this moment I felt as though we were bright eyed children around a campfire. “Alice and I are the only ones in the family who really believe in this, the others…don’t quite understand…”

Alice scoffed. “Yeah Rosalie and Emmet think we’re crazy. Carlisle has his head full of religion and science, he regrets what we are too much to look beyond that and see what we could be.”

“What about Edward, does he believe?” I said. 

Esme looked into the distance for a moment. “I think he believes sometimes, but he has Carlisle’s habits of dwelling on the past.” She looked at Alice then back at me. “Alice and I believe there’s more to our kind than just blood drinking and that we were created from something.”

Alice zipped next to me, “Esme and I have tried together to tap into this earthly energy. But our abilities are limited since we’re dead, but with a human in the mix now, perhaps we can help each other out?”

I almost laughed at the thought of a seance with two vampires in the middle of nowhere. But something deep in my gut felt we should proceed. I thought about the fox in the woods, how could I believe one was possible and not the other? “Let’s do it,” I said. 

Esme took out several candles from their bag and lit them around the circular space. We sat on our knees and held hands. While Esme prepared, Alice told me what to concentrate on: the energy between our hands and the present moment. I had tried meditation before and understood the frame of mind but had my doubts on what would happen. Then Alice rolled out some herbs. 

“Alice are we about to get high right now?” I said. 

“It’s my personal mixture of herbs that I’ve collected over the decades for these occasions. We burn them in the middle and it actually helps us get to a state of mindfulness. I’ll start slow since we don’t want to overpower your human senses,” she said. 

There we sat in a circle, holding hands and I inhaled deeply. I sputtered a cough and Esme gently patted my back. After the brief embarrassing outburst we got back on track. 

I felt my mind wander through the room, tracing out the shapes I saw in my memory. I extended my thoughts outside of the waterfall and concentrated on the cascading waves that fell into the river below. We were just a spec in a moment of many moments. The low thrum of water kept me grounded.

Edward crossed my mind and I creased my brows in frustration. 

“Honey, whatever you’re thinking right now just relax. We all have thoughts that won’t go away, but concentrate on what makes you happy.”

I breathed out through my nose and took another deep inhale of the herbs. They smelled flowery and sweet and I let my mind go where it wished. The river hummed inside me, and Edward swam through it. In this moment it made me happy, so I let the thoughts unfurl on their own. He rose from the water and stood with me, in the blazing sun. The diamond nature of his skin glistened in the light, causing a mosaic of diffused rays to fall onto the ground. The sky was coloured in pink and orange, and the clouds billowed around the sun like a Monet painting. A sigh escaped my lips. 

It was then I felt our hands grow warmer. A warm breeze came through us, it swirled the dirt around us and blew out the candles in a single sweep. I felt my heart race and opened my eyes. Esme and Alice had their eyes open as well, glowing golden with flecks of brown widened in surprise. The candles were snuffed out and yet I felt that I could see. The breeze became a wind and swirled around us until I could truly feel the beat of my heart pounding between the three of us. The warmth quickly became heat and I felt a scalding pain through my arms. I screamed and let go of Alice and Esme, when my hands touched the ground a sound like an explosion happened and a crack tore through the floor. 

The chaos ended as soon as it came, and silence fell over us. Esme turned on the lantern just in time I lost my ability to see in the dark. I squinted and rubbed my eyes. My hands were in pain, I looked at them closer to the light and saw they were red and swollen as if I’d been burned. 

“Alia oh no! I’m so sorry!” Alice cried. 

“Alice, take care of her while I go get some ice,” Esme said. She vanished into the dark. 

Alice stumbled around me trying to make me comfortable and I told her I was alright. “Alice don’t worry, this wasn’t your fault you didn’t know what would happen! We all wanted to know.” The pain started to set in and I tried not to wince in front of her. “What I’m more interested in, is what the fuck just happened over there?” I pointed to the fresh crack in the ground. It mirrored older looking fissures and I stood above the highest rock I could climb without using my hands and looked down. All the fissures and cracks new and old, came from the immaculate circle we sat in.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alia returns with some injuries from the trip - Edward takes care of her. Isabella Swan starts her first day of school....sooo not complicated right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some wonderful fluff in this chapter - my favourite parts to write. But then we also have the will they/won't they arc starting, so get ready for the PINING. It may hurt now, but trust me it'll be worth it :P 
> 
> Thanks so much for sticking with me and the kudos!! Have a wonderful day <3

Things were too quiet on the drive back and I grew restless. We decided not to spend the night since they wanted to take me home immediately to have Carlisle treat my injury. My hands were bandaged and I popped acetaminophen every four hours. I was in a fair bit of pain and couldn’t touch anything, though I tried to hide it to my best ability to not upset Alice or Esme. Their melancholy filled the car to the brim. 

“Can we talk about what happened?” I said from the backseat after sleeping for a few hours. We had been driving all night and I checked the dashboard time to read 3:57AM. It was still pitch black outside.

I leaned back upon hearing nothing and clicked my tongue. “Are you guys seriously this upset? I wanted to do it! I don’t regret it either because I’m pretty sure we did something and if none of you say anything I’m going to feel like a crazy person!”

Alice turned to face me as Esme tilted her head from the driver's seat. “Okay, sorry,” then she slowly smiled. “I have never in my life experienced something like that! Alia do you know what we did? The elements were affected! The most Esme and I ever did was nudge a couple of rocks! But you were amazing!”

“At what cost Alice,” Esme said under her breath. 

Alice quieted her excitement and looked away from me. 

“How do we know that it was at the cost of my body? It could just be that I’m not practiced in it,” I said. “This isn’t over, and I’m going to pursue it whether or not you’re with me so you might as well get over it and help me again next time.”

Esme concealed a smile and Alice laughed. “Tough cookie huh?” 

I laughed before sleep pulled at me once more. 

When we arrived at the house Edward appeared and opened the car door to receive me. He picked me up in his arms and when I protested he glared at me so frightfully I shut my mouth. He dropped me onto my bed gently, where Carlisle was waiting with a tray of medical supplies. 

“Fun girls trip?” Carlisle said with worry in his eyes. 

Edward actually hissed at him. 

I rolled my eyes. “It was awesome! We may have overdone it a tad but it was worth it.” 

Carlisle tended to my hands and applied a balm that numbed the pain. He also prescribed me stronger meds that I was deeply grateful for. 

When he left, Edward was at my side. “What were you doing out there?”

“Would you believe me if I said we were roasting marshmallows?” I said with a grin. 

He was definitely not impressed. 

“Edward relax, I’m fine. You found me before with way worse injuries, it’s just a burn. Humans are tougher than you think.” I winked.

He let out an irritated sigh. “There’s no winning with you, is there.”

I shook my head. “Absolutely not. What were you three up to? Sorry to cut your bro time short.” 

He almost smiled now. “No we just ran through southern Canada and raced up the mountains, we were going to hunt after but came home right away after finding out about your accident.”

“Sounds fun, sorry you couldn’t hunt,” I said, laying back and closing my eyes. I felt the weight on the bed shift and his cold body was suddenly next to mine as the mattress dipped beside me. I opened my eyes and caught him staring at my face. I winced and he twitched in concern. 

“It’s not the burns, if I have my hair up for too long I get a small headache, sorry do you mind?” I said holding up my bandaged hands in apology. 

His mouth was in a serious thin line, but he reached over with his hand around my head, his face moved closer to me and I felt myself blush. Luckily I was dark enough that no one could see me redden, although I feared he may have sensed the blood rushing to my face.

He reached over and gently pulled my hair tie off. Some strands almost pulled at my scalp but he grabbed the base of my hair with his other hand and removed my scrunchie with no hair plucked off. Vampires really could do anything. He threw my scrunchie across the bed and with his other hand reached over my shoulders and pulled me close. With his scrunchie free hand he returned to comb his fingers through my frizzy hair to even it out gently. I shivered at his cool touch. I glanced up at him as he ran his fingers through my hair repeatedly. He curled his fingers around my ear and lightly traced it with his thumb. I melted into a state of semi consciousness, perhaps it was the meds or his cool touch that distracted me from the subtle jolts of pain. It was a light kind of pleasure, that caused a warm fuzz to wash over my whole body.

He traced his hand down my ear, to my jawline and stroked it with his fingers. The warm fuzz transformed into a low ache in my belly. I tried to move, but his rock hard body was impossible to budge. Or I was too tired. Or I just didn’t want him to go. I gave in for the moment and nestled my head in the crook of his arm. He didn’t blink once while he watched me. I began to drift to sleep when I thought I saw him lean in. Before unconsciousness claimed me, I thought I felt a brief pressure on my forehead, as light as a butterfly’s wings.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

The burns on my hands were mild enough that I returned to school on Monday. I was told to stay home but I had Alice get me gloves to hide the bandages. She brought them to me as I got ready in the morning, and her eyes blanked out for a second. She was having a vision. 

Her expression looked confused and she looked at me as if I was a stranger. She sat down on the bed. I sat beside her. 

“What did you see?” I asked. Though I had a feeling about what she would say. 

She seemed a little spacey and looked off into the distance. Her eyes were a dark shade of brown today. “The new girl, Isabella - Bella Swan, I keep seeing her. I’m seeing her a lot. But when I see her, you’re not there like the blob of nothing you are in my visions. When I see you in my visions, she’s not really there either. This is confusing…” She refocused and looked at me, I could sense the caution in her eyes. “Don’t worry, it’s probably nothing.”

I smiled at her. “I’m not worried Alice, just keep an eye on Jasper today. Edward told me they weren’t able to hunt since they came home early and he might have a hard time.” 

She nodded at me fiercely, “you’re right, he needs to hunt tonight.”

Edward waited for me next to his Volvo and found myself gazing at him far too long. He had a reserved look on his face. I counted down the time to our biology lab and realized this was all I had left of my time with him. He would be overtaken by his soulmate, and I would have to watch their romance once again. And yet, the story that played in my head that had felt so familiar before, was now alien to me. Even Edward felt different to me than what I had known him as previously. 

“Are you trying to out brood me Alia?” He said as he rolled into his parking spot. Rosalie was parked beside him, the others were already inside. 

Across the lot I saw the infamous red truck and my stomach sank. “The day I outbrood you Edward Cullen is the day that the sky starts falling,” I said with a laugh. 

“How are you? You’ve been moping all morning,” he said reaching for my hand. 

I pulled it away quickly and opened the door to get out of the car. “I’m fine, some days are good and some days the baggage you stuff in your closet pokes out - you know how it is.”

“You can always talk to me Alia, I do know how it is,” he said leaning against his car. 

I smiled at him, his eyes were so earnest and kind it almost broke my heart. “I know Edward, thank you.”

We sat at the cafeteria table in the usual formation. I sat closer to the windows today to remain out of view, my goal at this point was to literally become a fly on the wall and I hoped that I didn’t cause as much damage as I thought I did. It must be repairable. A phantom thought went through my mind - _why does it have to be repairable?_ I shook it off. 

Edward kicked Jasper’s chair. 

“Sorry,” Jasper muttered.

Edward shrugged. 

“You weren’t going to do anything,” Alice said to him. “I could see that.”

I saw Edward give a cautious look to Alice.

She spoke quietly, “just think of them like Alia, she’s a part of our family, you wouldn’t eat her.”

Jasper looked more uncomfortable than he already seemed. “I know that,” he said curtly.

I looked around the cafeteria and saw her before Edward did, Mike Newton was fawning over her and Jessica walked beside her chatting in high spirits. I wondered what Edward was picking up from their minds and then decided I didn’t really want to know anymore. Bella glanced at our table and for a second I was glad Rosalie found someone new to glare at. I felt the glare on my face as well, what happened to me?

“Jessica Stanley is giving the Swan girl all the dirty laundry on the Cullen clan,” Edward said to Emmet under his breath. 

He chuckled quietly and I could tell he was responding to Edward in his mind. 

Her long brown hair fell in waves over her pale face as she ran a hand through it. Bella turned towards us and I saw her gazing intently at Edward. He looked at her back. Ah here we go. Just wonderful. Suddenly the room felt stifling and I needed to leave, I slid my chair as quietly as I could and walked out of the cafeteria. Edward turned away to watch me leave but I gave him a smile to suggest everything was fine and went on my way. I walked to the office and said I had hurt myself and that I would be going home, Carlisle called in earlier to tell the administrators that I may be excused if I wasn’t feeling well. 

As cowardly as it was to avoid their first meeting, it was the easiest way to get Edward to sit alone. It was the easiest way to make sure that they met properly with me out of the picture. I walked to the edge of the forest and looked back at the school through the trees. I felt tears sting my eyes and wiped them away before they even felt real. What the hell was I doing? 

When I saw Bella sitting there I felt as though I, the imposter were committing a grave crime. And yet at the same time I wanted to ask Edward to take me home so he could avoid meeting her altogether. What stung the most was that I knew it would probably change nothing. They were soulmates.

“You’re crazy and you’re going to ruin everything. Just go home,” I said to myself. I decided to take the long way back and walk. Forks was small but it would take me about an hour to get back to the house. I needed the walk to clear my head. 

I was in my room listening to music when I heard the small uproar in the house. Car doors slammed outside and an argument broke out. They were being louder than usual, even for vampires. I dared not move but listened intently sliding my earphones off. 

Rosalie was yelling, “what does he think he’s doing?”

“I saw him kill her in my vision, he’s obviously trying to control it but her scent was too much,” Alice said. 

“If he makes a mess of things we’re going to have to move again,” Rosalie said. 

There was more said but I could no longer hear as they lowered their voices, someone sighed and the door of the house opened and shut. I hung my head and walked up to the window to see if there was a Volvo there. There wasn’t. 

During dinner I noticed that the house felt strangely empty and that everyone was either avoiding me or avoiding each other. Perhaps it was a bit of both, I could feel the tension rolling through the glass partitions. For a second I thought that perhaps everyone disappeared and I would be left in this giant glass house by myself forever. This thought made me race up the stairs and almost knock on Alice’s door, but I didn’t and went straight to my room. 

She knocked on my door while I was getting ready for bed, I hid the relief from my face. “What’s up?” I said casually. 

“It has been a day,” Alice said. She looked down at her hands and then up at me, “Edward left town.”

I arranged my features to look shocked, “where did he go? Why so sudden?”

I could see Alice struggling to tell me, as if she wanted to spare me something. “He-he almost killed someone at school today, the new girl Bella Swan, her blood just brought his thirst out full force. He’s gone to Alaska to clear his mind.”

I nodded, “I’m glad she’s okay...and I know he’ll pull through it. He won’t hurt her.”

Alice sat with me and looked distant, “I keep seeing her, Edward is confused and his thought processes have created so many threads. She’s going to become a part of our lives one way or another.”

I smiled at Alice, “that’s good news.”

She looked at me again with her eyes full of emotion. I knew what she was thinking and was happy she said nothing. “Edward will come back,” she said, squeezing my hand gently. 

“Yes he will,” I said. _But he’s already too far away..._


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward returns to school, while Alia remains on edge about everything happening as it's supposed to. A van slips through the parking lot on an icy day....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Referencing Midnight Sun to help me with this timeline! Enter Bella, Edward's angst, and Alia's pining. 
> 
> Thank you so much for the kind comments and kudos! The updates will remain regular as I'm writing a few chapters ahead :) Exciting things to come!
> 
> Love ya, xoxo.

I went to school with the rest of them the following morning knowing Edward would not be back for the whole week and decided to distract myself as best as I could. I distanced myself from Jessica now that she was cementing her friendship with Bella and that left me lazily sitting at the table with Jasper, Alice, Emmet, and Rosalie staring into space. Though it did provide a wonderful way to stay quiet without too many questions. 

During biology I noticed that Bella sat in my spot, just as she should and yet I felt a lump in my throat thinking about it. I sat at the back and handed our teacher a note that I would be dropping the class this semester after today. The girl glanced at me for a moment and our eyes met when I walked back to my desk. I did not smile at her and cursed myself for being so rude. 

She kept glancing at the space where Edward would have sat, she must have been going crazy wondering what happened to him. I almost laughed, she would find out soon enough. After class was over I helped clean up the lab equipment to make up for dropping the course. Bella lingered and I panicked when she approached me. 

She bit her lip saying nothing for several seconds. I waited patiently for her to speak as I wiped the workstations down. “Hi,” I said. 

“H-hi, I’m Bella Swan,” she said. 

“I know,” I said with a smile. “New student and all that, how’s your first week going so far?”

She breathed out heavily and an uncomfortable silence settled around us. I blinked at her a few times waiting for a response. When the silence lingered too long I felt the urge to fill it, “I was a new student a month ago, don’t worry it’ll die down soon enough. I’m Alia Cullen by the way.”

She smiled at me so I assumed that was a good sign. “You seem different, from them, like nicer - not that they’re not...” she said in a clumsy way. 

I laughed a little, “no I understand, my family has a way of being...stiff we’ll say.” I winked at her. 

“Do you know what happened to Edward?” She said meekly, her eyes didn’t meet mine. Ah, that was the reason she came to talk to me. 

“He’s visiting some of our extended family out of town, there was an emergency so yeah…”

She seemed to be half distracted and half listening to what I said. The girl definitely was head over heels for him already. She mumbled a breathy “oh ok” to me. We exchanged some more pleasantries and she left. I sat in a lab chair and rested my head on the glass cabinet behind me. 

“This is going to be a long semester…”

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Edward returned on the weekend, I saw him drive up as I helped Esme work on the front lawn. He looked haunted and glanced at me briefly before heading into the house and into his room. Esme and I looked at each other and she told me to finish up and go. 

I went in and washed up, then slowly made my way up the stairs to Edward’s room. I knocked softly on the door and heard him say “come in.”

He was standing by the window with his arms crossed over his chest. His face held a stern expression. I walked in and sat on one of the chairs, leaning forward on my elbows. “How are you Edward?”

“I almost killed the Swan girl,” he said. 

I hugged my elbows and waited for him to continue. 

He turned to me and leaned against the glass. “I can’t read her thoughts, she’s like you. Except I don’t get any words or even feelings from her. It’s like radio silence. And her blood, Alia, I felt the monster within me almost come out,” he slid down the glass and sat on the floor. 

How I wanted to walk over and hold him, I wanted to tell him it was going to be absolutely fine. I hugged my elbows tighter and stayed seated. “But you didn’t, you overcame it.”

“All I wanted to do was rip her throat out and taste her blood!” He yelled. 

My eyes widened at his outburst and he gave me an apologetic look. My heart started to ache then and I knew that feeling would take up a permanent residence. “You have the control to handle this. I know you do.”

He shook his head, “no, you don’t know what she smells like. It’s the most powerful scent I’ve ever encountered. I don’t think I can control myself, she’s in real danger. I can’t stay here…”

Now I went over to him and put my hands on his shoulders. He was slouching in defeat and I squeezed his shoulders. “Nothing bad happened, and nothing bad will happen. You’re going to get to know Bella Swan and you’re not going to kill her. And you’re certainly not going anywhere. Understand?”

Edward and I had instances where we would have a staring battle. We would make our statements and challenge each other. Then we would stare until one of us conceded. This time I gave him a long hard gaze and remained unblinking for as long as I could. 

He slipped first and smiled at me. For a moment he seemed to return to his familiar self. “I suppose I can’t just ignore Alia’s orders can I?” 

“Absolutely not,” I said smiling back. 

He brought his hands up to mine which rested on his shoulders. I was about to pull away when he pulled me into a fierce embrace. I froze in place and didn’t hug him back. 

“Alia I don’t know what I would do without you,” he said. I felt his cheek resting on the top of my head and found my resistance wearing thin as each second passed. 

“You’d be in deep shit that’s for sure,” I joked as I pulled away. He let me go and I swear I felt the air grow colder without his presence. 

The following week we all returned to school and I kept my distance from Bella. Not that she noticed as she was entirely enamoured by Edward. I didn’t have to be a mind reader to catch the ways she tried hiding her body language but it was always aimed towards him. I found myself mimicking Rosalie’s cold expressions to my horror. I quickly arranged my features into a smile before it stuck for too long. 

Edward cornered me when he found out I dropped biology. We got into a minor argument. 

“You know I can’t stand that girl! Now that you’ve left she has to sit by me,” he said, exasperated. 

“Well if you can’t even sit by her for an hour a day how will you get used to her smell? I’m feeling overwhelmed by all my classes right now so I had to drop one, it’s not a big deal,” I said sticking my chin out. 

He stormed away from me when I shrugged. I held myself together long enough to watch him leave. I proceeded to go into the bathroom and cry. The pain in my chest did not subside as each day passed. 

Alice, Jasper, and I waited in the parking lot for Edward at the ring of the last bell. It was an icy day and I saw Bella slip across the lot. I realized that this would be the moment he would go save her. Edward was beside me in an instant and I saw his eyes wander over to Bella. She looked so lost and lonely, I felt a reflexive concern come over me. 

“NO!” Alice suddenly gasped aloud. 

Tyler Crowley, in his van, sped through the parking lot and one second Edward was beside me and the next he was gone and there was a crashing sound as the van collided with Bella’s truck. Someone screamed but I knew everything was okay. Edward would be holding her right now and I pushed down every thought I had. 

Alice and Jasper became still as statues as everyone crowded around the van and truck to see if they were okay. Rosalie and Emmet came along and from the angry look on Rosalie’s face I could tell she heard the words exchanged between Bella and Edward. The five of us took Rosalie’s car home while Edward went to the hospital. 

“What the hell was he thinking?” Rosalie raged as she drove.

Alice was quiet sitting in the back between Jasper and I. 

Jasper slowly drawled, “he shouldn’t have done that, should’ve allowed nature to run its course.”

I cursed myself in a moment of weakness when I agreed with him. I didn’t really want that, it was a passing thought that I added on to the reasons to hate myself even more. This was her story, not mine, I was the intruder. 

“If she talks we’ll have to move otherwise we’ll take care of her,” Emmet said. His tone was dark.

“I don’t want to move,” Rosalie hissed.

I was silent and wondered if I remained quiet enough, if I would simply disappear and be forgotten. When we got to the house everyone dispersed. I wandered inside and sat in my room, I stared into the woods for a long time and asked myself what I was doing. In a room that wasn’t mine, in a place that wasn’t mine, in a story that wasn’t mine. 

I made up my mind then, that I would return to the woods and find my way back home. It was too much risk to stay here and ruin things for everyone. I would keep to myself until I found a way out. It was a relief that Edward nor Alice could listen to my thoughts or see my actions, but a tiny spec of annoyance perked up that nobody would stop me. 

Edward came home after a few hours with Carlisle and the family met in the living room. I was in the kitchen finishing up dishes from my dinner. 

I heard Esme speak first, “what happened?”

Edward relayed the events from the parking lot leading up to the hospital. 

“So does she know?” Rosalie said.

Edward was silent and then said, “Rose I can’t really concentrate if you keep insulting me so loudly.”

There was a silence. 

“She thinks she saw me stop the van but she hasn’t told anyone anything.”

“Great! Just great Edward. First you drag a human out of a lake and jeopardize our lives and now you’re stopping vehicles with your bare hands in public? Are you trying to expose us to as many humans as possible? What would the Volturi think?” Rosalie almost screamed the words. 

I tried not to feel the hit as she included me in her statement, but it stung. 

Carlisle spoke sternly, “The Volturi won’t know, and Edward was finding his compassion. He already has had a hard time with Bella’s scent, what do you think would have happened if her blood spilled all over the lot? He could have exposed us all then too.”

In these moments I felt it best to remove myself so I moved up the stairs as quietly as I could when Rosalie called me. I froze in place when they all appeared at the base of the stairs. 

“Yes?” I said. 

“You’re human, you need to get close to the Swan girl and see what she knows. It’s the best way for us to know what kind of a problem this is,” she said. 

I was dumbfounded. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

Carlisle said, “actually that is a good plan. You’re the most...non conspicuous of us all, and though we are sorry to drag you into it, can you speak to her and find out what she knows and what she plans to do?”

I glanced at Edward as he leaned to the side staring at me. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, and he couldn’t tell what I was thinking. I sighed in defeat, “okay, I’ll do it.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alia hangs out with Bella. The Cullens decide what to do with her, Edward voices his opinions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH THE PINING 
> 
> Thank you for staying with me during this difficult time 😭. You folks are so great, thank you for your kudos and comments, it really helps me keep going ♥️♥️
> 
> Love ya xoxo

Edward and I were taking food from the cafeteria line. I saw her sitting by herself before she raised her head to search the room for him. I grit my teeth at what I was supposed to do but felt Rosalie’s glare at the back of my neck. 

I walked up to her and smiled, “hi Bella, mind if I sit?”

She looked up at me, dumbfounded for several seconds and then she looked around with a wistful glance. I almost felt sorry I wasn’t Edward but also couldn’t help feeling mildly insulted that my presence was so...disappointing to her. 

“Y-yeah sure,” she said. 

“How’re you feeling? I heard about the accident, that must have been awful,” I said as I took a bite of pizza. The cheese was cold.

She looked at me then with a curious gaze, her mouth drawn into a frown. “Yeah, it was really good Edward got there in time.”

I raised my brows, “yes he told me you were...confused.” 

She looked at me irritatedly, “I’m not confused, I know he was there - I saw him...I saw him stop the van you know.” She lowered her voice at the end.

I could feel the waves of glowering that were coming from the Cullen table. I decided to cut it short lest Jasper or Rosalie kill Bella on her first day back from the accident. “We can talk about it after school if you like,” I said as I got up. 

“H-how’s Edward doing?” She said meekly. Her head tilted in his direction and she was trying to look inconspicuous. 

“He’s fine,” I said curtly and walked out of the cafeteria, throwing my half eaten pizza in the trash. 

The school day was slow, but for English we started reading ‘The Modern Prometheus’ better known as Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’. I had not read it before and found it to be most interesting, and very sad. I wondered then if Edward had read this one, perhaps it could be his gateway into science fiction. I smiled predicting his behaviour, surely he would take on the role of the creature and allow his despair to pour through each page while he thought of his own monstrous nature. Ah what a drama queen that boy was. My heart fluttered at the thought of his fallacies and what I felt just beyond my teasing was a sense of deep endearment. Stop it! I shoved those thoughts away in my mind and continued on with the day.

At the end of the school day I waited around for Bella to see if she wanted to talk. Rosalie made it so the whole group left school without me, Edward tried arguing but the look on her face suggested she would take a bite out of something or someone if he pushed it too much.

I heard a thump behind me and saw Bella on the ground, she had tripped over her shoes. 

“Hi Alia,” said Bella from the floor. 

I held out a hand to help her up, she took it. “Hi Bella, you okay?”

She nodded slowly with a pained smile. Bella looked around me for what I could only assume was my familial company and I saw a quick flash of disappointment. “Do you need a ride?”

It was truly the last thing I wanted, but I smiled and said, “yeah sure, we could go to your place if you want to hang. I can get picked up after.”

She gave me a bug eyed sort of look and sighed in a breathy manner. “Sure.”

If I said it was an awkward car ride, that would have been an understatement. I was in no mood to speak and she kept her eyes on the road, silent as ever. I wondered if she had any sense at all to keep a semblance of light-heartedness in the air, but quickly realized she was mostly absorbed in her own thoughts. Most likely thoughts about Edward, I assumed. I didn’t realize a person could feel like a third wheel without the full couple yet here I was. 

“So...Bella, have you decided to join any of the clubs here? There’s a lot more than I would have thought,” I said, trying to break the thick wall of ice. 

She snapped out of her thoughts, “umm no not really, I’m not much of a club person.”

I knit my brows, “but you must enjoy something. Sports or chess clubs aren’t the only things out there. There’s a reading group at school hosted by a couple of the student teachers, I think I’m going to join it.”

“I don’t really read the latest stuff, classics are my favourite,” she said. 

I felt my eyes roll into my brain. I tried to stop my tongue, the wave of the rant was coming on, strong. It was a tidal wave but I used my empathy to ease the wave into kinder phrasing and let her have it. 

The rest of the car ride I gave her a similar rant to what I told Edward before, though I made it exclusively longer for her benefit that it was worth reading modern books and that she should join the book club. What else was this girl doing other than pining over Edward and sitting at home alone?

“Ok ok, I’ll join it!” She said, laughing and yet confused. 

I was used to people treating me like I was insane, it made me smile with pride. “Lovely, is this your house, it’s so nice!” 

She looked at me as if I was lying but I was earnest, it was a cute house and well kept. Her father’s police car was parked in front so he must have been home. Bella let me inside as she opened the door and called out to him. 

“Char-Dad! I’m home and I brought a friend over,” she said. 

Heavy footsteps followed through the kitchen and Charlie emerged. He saw me and looked surprised to see someone other than Bella standing there. “Oh, well hi, I’m Chief Swan but you can call me Charlie.”

I gave him a bright smile and put on my most youthful upbeat voice, “hi Charlie, it’s really nice to meet you! Bella and I are going to join the book club at school together!”

A smile crossed his face, perhaps a look of mild relief. “That’s great Bella, she must have twisted your arm a bit huh?” He said winking at Bella. She then rolled her eyes at him and went upstairs. 

It upset me how she treated her father who seemed much nicer in person than I had read, I smiled brightly at him and followed her upstairs. 

“Your father is very kind Bella,” I said sitting in a chair in her room. 

She looked around and put her bag on the floor, “yeah he means well.”

“You’re lucky to have him, my parents-” I stopped before I revealed too much. 

She looked up at me from the bed and seemed concerned enough. “What happened to your parents?”

I looked away and took a deep breath. “They’re gone, I lost them a few months ago.”

Her expression turned to one of mild horror, “oh god, I’m so sorry Alia, I can’t imagine how hard that must be.”

I looked into her eyes with a soft expression, “it’s okay, thank you. It just makes me wish I had been better with them, before it was too late you know? You think you have all this time, but life is too uncertain to be unkind to those around us,” I shrugged. 

She nodded and bit her lip. 

“So, tell me, about the accident,” I said. 

I could sense hesitation in her face, she was wondering how much she could trust the Cullen that did not look like a Cullen. Slowly, she began to unveil her thoughts. 

She went through the major details of the accident and even prodded me lightly for information. Her skills on persuasion and the art of conversation were lacking at best but she tried. I found myself smiling at her naturally. There was a sweetness to the awkward girl and I couldn’t find it in myself to hate her as much as I tried. I gave up on that and decided to let myself like her.

“I see...well that’s a lot of crazy talk but I honestly think you should talk with Edward about it. I know he wants to explain things to you,” I said. 

Her eyes lit up, “really? He wants to talk to me?”

“Yeah, and it’s probably best to go through it with him since he was there. I should actually go though, it’s getting a little late.”

She got up when I did and led me downstairs. After spending some more time together, her disposition towards me seemed more comfortable. “Thanks for coming over...and I’m excited for the book club.”

I winked at her, “awesome! See you at school!”

There was another car parked at her house and I saw Billy and Jacob Black standing on the front lawn. Bella saw them and gestured to them to come in, she called Charlie to bring Billy’s wheel chair inside. I walked by them and Billy and Jacob gave me different looks, Jacob as young as he was looked at me with interest and a wide smile. I smiled back. Billy looked guarded and frowned at me. 

“Who might you be?” Billy said. 

“Hi, I’m Alia Cullen,” I said. 

They looked at each other in surprise. I could feel Billy’s frightened stare boring a hole in my back as I walked across the road. Emmet was waiting in his jeep, Rosalie must have assigned him to baby sitting duty to make sure I completed my tasks. 

“Oh my god join my book club?” He said in his worst valley girl accent. 

I slapped him on the arm and snorted. “What, don’t they teach cavemen how to read?”

He laughed louder and turned the radio on in the background. After a few minutes passed he asked, “why’d you tell her to talk to Edward?”

I looked out the window at the blur of trees whipping past. “Because I’m a fucking masochist Emmet,” I said and closed my eyes for the rest of the drive. 

When we arrived at the house, everyone was there to ask me what happened. Emmet joined Rosalie on the couch while Alice stood next to Jasper. Esme and Carlisle stood by the window while Edward crossed his arms and leaned on the wall. 

“She suspects something, she doesn’t know what you are, but she knows you’re not human,” I said. 

Everyone was still and no one said a word for several minutes. I stood by the entrance to the dining room and waited for them. I briefly thought about whipping up an omelette after our talk. 

“I can leave,” Edward said. 

“No! You can’t leave,” I yelled. Everyone stared at me for a moment, I hated the knowing look in their eyes. Not for me...for her.

Carlisle spoke, “no, it would be too suspicious for us to stay, if you go we all have to move.”

This time Rosalie yelled, “we are almost done highschool, I don’t want to move anywhere yet!” She glared at Edward, “if you had just let nature run its course this wouldn’t have happened!”

Jasper’s soothing voice chimed in, “we do have the option of settin’ things right. She was supposed to die from that accident.”

Edward growled, “nobody touches her!”

There it was. I had not seen any mutual feelings on his part until then, but the way he became so protective of her I knew his feelings grew into something more than just bloodlust. My insides felt cold and I wanted to leave the room. 

Edward groaned, “Alice stop! Your visions aren’t making any sense!”

We all turned to look at her, though I had an idea of what she would be seeing. 

“Every time your decisions solidify I see what will happen. Jasper, please don’t kill Bella, she’s going to become our friend. I’m going to love her,” she said. 

I felt a stab of pain go through my heart. Alice’s eyes snapped to mine. 

“Edward, my visions...either she ends up dead or...she is with you,” she said. 

Esme responded, “what? Edward with the girl?” Her face turned to mine with sympathy filled eyes.

Alice looked between Edward and I as well. I couldn’t take it anymore. “Edward, Alice’s visions are showing you of Bella’s life or death right? Doesn’t that make it clear? We can’t let her die, so we must follow the path where she remains alive. It’s fate.”

I stormed up the stairs and slammed my door shut. Tears fell from my face and I buried myself into the cushion so they could not hear me weep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward and Alia take a detour on the way to school. A new character is introduced...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can we just say woohoo ten chapter mark! :D (this is me just being excited about writing this much in a short amount of time, I haven't written in a loooong time, and this story is really helping me exercise again). 
> 
> You guys are absolutely wonderful and thank you for your encouragement! I'm excited for our next developments, I suppose the end is nigh....unless I extend it, who honestly knows....
> 
> love ya! xoxo

I woke up and got ready before school, today was a black jeans and red sweater kind of day. When I went downstairs Edward was in the kitchen. I smelled a buttery sweet scent, my stomach growled. 

“Are you making pancakes?” I said.

Atop the dining table, there was a comically large stack of pancakes on a single plate. Blueberry, banana, chocolate chip, and plain. By comically, I mean a Scooby Doo size plate of pancakes. 

“You haven’t been eating properly the last week, I’ve seen you throwing in microwave dinners and using up all the canned food. It’s not good for you,” he said. 

“Since when do you know what’s good for me?” I snapped. He looked at me with a sad gaze that stung. 

I sighed and sat down, impaling two pancakes and pouring some syrup onto them. They were perfectly fluffy and I couldn’t help but moan quietly. Unfortunately with his vampire hearing he heard me and chuckled. 

Watching Edward make pancakes in the kitchen was truly a mesmerizing experience. I almost forgot he was a century old vampire, with flour stuck to his hands holding a spoon dripping batter. It made me ache to watch him so I looked away and I ate silently.

After a few minutes the chair beside me dragged out and he sat down with his hands folded in front of him. 

“Thank you for this, if only you could taste it,” I said.

He wrinkled his nose, “no thanks, it’s meant for you alone.” He placed his hand on mine.

I smiled at him and then slowly slid my hand away, he glanced at me with a questioning look. I felt a whisper of pressure on my mind and raised a brow at him. It dissipated immediately, and he muttered a sorry. 

After eating, Edward led me to his car, when I told him I was supposed to be going with Emmet he told me they left early today. I looked at him suspiciously and he remained stone faced. Edward drove down the winding roads and then took a turn I didn’t recognize. 

“Where are we going?” I asked. 

“We’ll be back by lunchtime don’t worry,” he said with a grin. “I just want to show you something.”

I protested to no avail, he sped down the highway and out of town in minutes. 

We parked by a popular hiking trail, though there was no one in sight this time of day. Edward gestured to me to climb onto his back once we were out of the car. I berated him for kidnapping me but jumped on. We both went slightly rigid at the close contact. I had not touched him so closely since the day he held me when I was burned. 

“Hold on,” he said with a wide smile. 

I closed my mouth promptly (in fear of bugs like last time) and tucked my head into his neck as he launched us into the woods. It was entirely different from being on Esme’s back, Edward was _fast._ In a short time he slowed down and gently lowered me to the ground. I swayed a little and he caught me by the waist. I grabbed his shoulders and our noses brushed when I looked up. I felt my face become heated as he lingered over me for a second then he smiled stiffly and led me through the trees. His cool hand remained in mine as we entered the meadow. This time I didn’t pull away.

I took a step back when I realised where we were, _no no, this wasn’t right._ He wasn’t supposed to bring me here, this wasn’t even in the right order. 

He pulled me into the middle where the wildflowers were the densest and sat me down. The grass was slightly damp from the cooler season but Edward laid down a blanket. 

“This is my secret place, the meadow where I come to think,” he said sitting back on his elbows. His lips were as pale as the rest of him, and his eyes glowed a bronze hue. He closed them and took a deep inhale.

I rested on one elbow and laid down next to him. “Why did you bring me here Edward?”

His eyes opened and I thought I saw the flecks of lighter bronze move in his irises. “I wanted to show you the place where I feel most at peace, well second place,” he said. He shifted closer to me and I could feel his cool breath on my face when he spoke. “The first place is around you.”

My heart pounded in my chest as we gazed at each other. He lifted a hand to my cheek and I turned away enough that he frowned. 

“Do you despise what I am? I won’t be offended if you do, I am a monster,” he said lowering his hand. He looked away from me into the distance. “I’ve done horrible things, if I could but end myself perhaps the whole world would be better for it. Yet, I remain a coward.”

I started laughing. 

He looked at me incredulously and then was a little offended. I got up and put my hands on his knees so I was directly in front of him. 

“You are a ridiculous man, you know that?” I said, still laughing. “You believe yourself to be the abomination, as Victor Frankenstein created his monster?” Edward was not laughing. I sobered and looked at him seriously. “Edward, you are a vampire. That’s what you are. But, that doesn’t mean you are pure evil or a monster. You face great challenges. Where weaker beings would fail, you succeeded at keeping your humanity! Your only faults are that you’re too hard on yourself and a little melodramatic. You don’t get the Oscar by overdoing it, it’s the subtlety.” I paused to give him a knowing look, “remember my advice when you become famous.”

Now he laughed, loud and more open than I had ever heard. He cupped my face in his hand. “Why is it that around you, I feel so free?”

I reached where he held my face and stroked his hand. Our fingers intertwined. “We understand each other,” I said and looked down. I breathed out slowly. “My scent doesn’t strain you does it?”

“It pains me enough, but it’s nothing I cannot handle,” he said stroking my cheek. 

“But Bella...she sets your senses on fire,” I said. 

He stopped caressing me and slowly dropped his hand. “Yes but...that’s not anything…”

“Edward...I think there’s a reason for that. Perhaps you’re meant to be...around her. Alice’s visions always come true,” I said. Each word was a cut in my chest. 

His eyes pierced mine. “But I want to be here now, with you,” he said. 

“Well we can’t,” I said. I stood up and started walking away from him. I felt tears in my eyes. 

“You drive me crazy Alia,” he said. He appeared behind me and I felt his hands on my waist and his cheek brush my neck as he inhaled deeply. “And it has little to do with your blood.” 

I leaned back for a second, just for myself to remember this moment. Then I set my jaw and said what I needed to say. “You have to get close to Bella Swan, you have to make sure she doesn’t die. It’s not about what we want now, it’s about what’s right. Now take me back to school.” I turned around and went behind him to climb onto his back. We didn’t look at each other again. 

Edward and I arrived in the cafeteria together and I went over to sit beside Alice. She looked between us with concern and I saw Edward walk over to Bella and sit down with her. As he walked away I noticed how his shoulders were so tensely set. Things were set back on track, so why did I feel like heaping piles of rubbish?

The day dragged on and the only class I really enjoyed was English. There were a couple of girls there, Lisa and Jenny that were as into the readings as I was. We discussed Frankenstein after class and I promised to meet up with them on a weekend at the mall. They were so sweet and provided a wonderful distraction. When they left I felt my thoughts roam to places I didn’t want to go. 

As I was making dinner that night, grilled cheese, I heard a car pull up. Carlisle immediately appeared and brought me over to the living room where everyone else was standing. I was about to ask what was going on when the door opened. 

A tall woman, darker than I, yet impossibly pale looking walked in. She was drop dead gorgeous and gave Rosalie a run for her money. Her deep brown skin lacked warmth and yet glowed in the fluorescent lights of the house. She had tight curls that hung at shoulder length and from her aristocratic nose to her sharp eyes, I wondered if she was the same brown as me. I could tell she was a vampire, her hazel eyes gave it away. She looked at me with a slight tilt of her head. Her eyes twinkled mischievously. 

“So this is the human you’ve been keeping?” She said. She walked up to me, eyebrow raised and took my hand and kissed it. I blushed a little and smiled at her. “I’m Josephine, but you can call me Jo.” She winked at me and then proceeded to hug Alice. 

“Thanks for coming Jo,” Carlisle said with a wide smile. He turned to everyone, “she’s going to be staying in town for a few weeks on her way to South America, she’s a part of the Denali family.”

“I’m going back to Chile for a while and thought I’d make a detour,” she said. She looked me up and down, “and I’m so glad I did.”

I couldn’t tell if she thought I was pretty or tasty, perhaps a bit of both. Though I decided I liked her, regardless.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fun trip to Port Angeles takes a turn...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so so much for reading and your kudos and your comments! I hope you enjoy the final half of this tale as much as I enjoy writing it =)
> 
> <3

The house was empty that night, Alice and Jasper took Josephine out into the mountains to catch up and do some hunting. Rosalie, Emmet, and Esme accompanied them while Carlisle was working an all night shift at the hospital. 

This was the first night that Edward left the house to go watch Bella sleep. I tried not to let it bother me though I kept wondering if he enjoyed listening to her mumble in her sleep. It was infuriating, but I had my own mission to go on. I snuck into Alice and Jasper’s room and searched for the herbs she used in the caves. Her room smelled entirely sweet like candy for some reason, and was immaculately clean. I eventually found the bag and took half the herbs into my own bag and returned everything as neatly as I could. I had a feeling she would know I was in her room, but I didn’t care. 

I ran across the lawn and into the woods. The grass squelched beneath my feet as I ran. I turned on my flashlight and walked onwards, in search of a way home. I had overstayed my welcome and it was time to return to where I came from. 

After walking for over thirty minutes, I found a spot, by the edge of a large formation of rock, where the trees slanted down into a small creek. It was relatively flat and dry at the top, so I sat there and lit some candles. I burned a small bit of the herbs and tried to reach out into the earth. I wasn’t sure if this would work without Alice or Esme but I wanted to give it a shot. 

I cleared my mind and simply tried thinking of being home. I thought about my mother and father, my friends and even Ashley and Thomas. Their faces seemed to be from a different lifetime to me, they felt further away the more I reached out. 

I felt prickling heat all over my body and had no idea how much time had passed. It was a cold night and yet I found myself sweating profusely. A sharp pain erupted on the side of my ribs, I groaned loudly and keeled over. A twig snapped when I exhaled and as my hands impacted the ground, I split a tree trunk in half. 

I stood up to go look at the tree, it was chipped, but there was no vortex or black hole for me to jump through. I slammed my hands against the wood trying to comprehend this volatile power. 

The side of my body ached and I lifted my shirt to see a pink burn slash across my brown skin just under the side of my right breast. “Oh great,” I said. 

When I returned, it was still night and the house was empty. I had extra burn cream from my hand injury and applied that to my side. It eased the piercing pain to a distant numbness. I wondered at my failure, how I so badly wanted to lay in my mother’s arms and tell her I was in pain. She would yell at me for being stupid enough to get injured in the first place, but then she would take me in her arms and hold me tight. 

I sobbed for hours, and when the sky grew warm with the navy blue fading into a pale morning sky, I dried my eyes and got ready for another day. 

Alice was downstairs with Jo when I got to the kitchen to have breakfast. They were sitting at the table exchanging stories. Jo changed her clothes to a more casual and fitting set of jeans and flannel. She looked like a lumberjack model, a very beautiful lumberjack model. 

“Morning Alia,” Jo said, “why you look...deadder than I do.” 

Alice squeaked a laugh. 

“Oh thanks Jo, good to see you’re one of the few vampires with a sense of humor,” I said. 

Jo smiled widely, “that’s right babe, what’s immortality if you can’t laugh about it?”

I placed my bread into the toaster and laughed, “so true, some of them just don’t get it.”

Jo looked at Alice, “I really like this one. How did you find her?”

We sobered quickly and Alice gave her a vague explanation of Edward saving me from certain doom. I was happy their conversation turned to a different topic when Alice discussed her latest fashion trends. I munched on my toast while they discussed the “scene” fad versus the “emo”. Little did they know, it was more of a lifestyle.

“Hey let’s go shopping this Saturday, we can go to Port Angeles,” Alice said. 

Jo heartily agreed and then turned to me, “you have to come.”

Alice looked at me expectantly. Resigned, and I sighed. “Of course Jo!”

I had been able to avoid Edward for the rest of the week, though each day I grew more annoyed. He was gone every night and I held my tongue to keep from berating him on his creepy behaviour. Did he really have to go every single night?

On the day we were headed to Port Angeles I was waiting in the living room for Alice and Jo when Rosalie and Edward walked in. They were arguing again. Rosalie walked over to the bookshelf and rolled her eyes in response to something.

“Why even bother coming home Edward?” She said with a sneer. 

Edward looked at me, defeated. “I’m simply trying to grow accustomed to her scent. By forcing myself to remain in her presence for an extended period of time, it has helped greatly.” He was answering Rosalie but looking at me. 

I pursed my lips. “Well as creepy as it is, if it’s helping you not kill her then what else is there to do…”

Rosalie scowled at me and Edward frowned. The latter took me by surprise since I was taking his side. 

“So that’s how you feel is it?” he said, walking away and out of the house. 

I sat there confused as hell and sighed. 

“Why are you letting him act like this?” 

I turned to Rosalie with a surprised expression. She was actually speaking to me without contempt. Well, without most of her contempt. 

“What do you mean?” I said, crossing my arms. 

She walked over to me and sat down beside me. Her blonde hair fell in lush waves around her face, sometimes I forgot how beautiful she was beyond her cold demeanor. “You care for him, and yet when he’s chasing another woman, you feel nothing?”

I froze in place and looked away from her. “He-I….” I took a breath. “Bella is the one that’s meant for him, not me. I can’t fight fate.” She was about to say something when I looked at her but stopped. The tears fell from my face freely, I would have been embarrassed but I was too overwhelmed. 

Rosalie looked at me for a long time and leaned in closer, she put an arm around me and rubbed my shoulders. We sat there in silence until I got my shit together, and dried my eyes. 

“I’m sorry Rosalie, I shouldn’t have gotten so weepy I’m-” I started.

“No, don’t be. I understand what it’s like to love someone you have to give up,” she said with a hint of a haunted look in her eyes. “Just make sure you don’t regret your choice, because you’ll never get a second chance.” She vanished at the last word and I was left with a heavy heart and cold hands. 

Jo and Alice eventually brought the car around and we were on our way to Port Angeles, I sat in the back and pondered Rosalie’s words as I gazed at the passing greenery. Jo was talkative enough to let me sit in in peace without much interference.

We ended up going to the mall where Alice and Jo tried on new outfits. I watched them both while eating a burrito and it was truly a blissful experience. It almost took my mind off of things. Jo wore a low V neck romper that showed off her legs while Alice wore ripped black jeans and a top that could only be described as reflective as a disco ball. Jo grabbed Alice’s waist and lifted her leg up around her and pretended to feel her up.

“What would Jasper say Alice?” Jo said, laughing.

We all laughed and then Alice wheeled her away and whispered a “sorry” but I told her I didn’t mind. 

“Are you going to sit there all day eating or try on something?” Jo said. 

“I’m enjoying the fashion show, and the human appetite is something you vampires will never appreciate,” I said. 

Later on we went to a photo booth at the mall and sat inside for almost an hour doing the most ridiculous poses. Alice made me change into one of the outfits she bought while Jo changed her top. A security guard came in to check on the ruckus and found us three girls in our undergarments from the top up, he sputtered and almost tripped as he walked away. We giggled like we were all an average age of thirteen. 

The day passed in a similar light way and I smiled when Jo bought me a giant stick of cotton candy. She decided to purchase me a snack at every food place we passed to see if I’d eat it. She looked disgusted and fascinated everytime I started eating. I looked past Jo with a mouthful of cotton candy and thought I saw a shadow in the distance, I blinked and it was gone. Strange.

We walked at the pier and through downtown as the sun disappeared into darkness. Alice stopped suddenly with a blank face. We let her go through her episode, when she blinked into reality once more we turned around to see Bella walk out of a bookstore and down the street. She didn’t see us but continued onwards. My heart sank when I realized what Alice would have seen. 

“Who’s that cutie?” Jo said. The wind whipped in our direction. “Mmm she smells amazing!”

“That’s Bella Swan,” Alice said in a far away voice. “She’s going to get hurt tonight if someone doesn’t help her.”

Jo vanished before Alice or I could take in another thought.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Events at Port Angeles take a violent turn. Bella learns a new secret. 
> 
> Someone needs a drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings for this chapter: one section is hinting at assault and there's some violence (the first several paragraphs), and in one scene near the end we encounter some drinking in excess.
> 
> Also the angst...oh the angst and pining..... >.<
> 
> We have some recommended listening for the second half of this chapter! I'd recommend starting it after Alia eats the cookies (my best non spoiler way to give you the cue lol).
> 
> Frédéric Chopin - Prelude in E-Minor (op.28 no. 4)
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef-4Bv5Ng0w  
> ^link to the song on youtube
> 
> Love ya, xoxo!

Alice moved oddly sluggish now, I was trying to run in the direction that Bella went but lost sight of her. “Alice, is Jo going to hurt Bella?”

“No...but let’s get to the car and find them,” she said, her voice still far away. It seemed like she was still having visions as we walked. “There’s too many...possibilities…”

“I’ll drive,” I said as she seemed in no condition to pay attention to the road. 

We got into the car and I swerved into the street and raced down in the direction that she went.

“Turn right up ahead,” Alice said, her eyes unblinking and wide open. I turned. 

A silver vehicle sped by us and I only caught sight of it briefly before it turned into a dark parking lot. _Edward._

I sped the car up and followed him into an empty parking lot. I jumped out of the car to see Bella surrounded by a group of strangers, Jo stood in front of her protectively. Edward was sitting in his Volvo, parked behind Bella as transfixed with the tableau as I was. 

“Come on boys, why don’t you play with me?” Jo said, her voice teeming with seduction and a touch of malice. 

Though the men were drunk they must have picked up on the danger she presented since they kept backing up. One of them, very drunk, walked up to Jo and tried to strike her, she grabbed his wrist instantly and I heard a snapping sound. He cried in pain and fell to his knees.

“Bella are you okay?” I yelled. 

Bella turned to look at the rest of us with a shocked expression. Her mouth gaped open and her brows knitted in confusion. 

“You fucking bitch!” One of the men yelled at Jo. They began to advance on her. 

Jo stepped over the man cowering on the ground towards the others. She turned her head to speak to us over her shoulder, “one of you guys take her home. I’ll deal with this. Alice, take Alia home too.”

“Bella, get in,” Edward said, opening the door of his car. 

Bella hesitated a few seconds, staring at Jo before she conceded. 

Edward looked at me before he sped away with Bella and my heart squeezed painfully in my chest. Alice was beside me in an instant and all but threw me into the car. “Don’t kill them Jo!” She chimed back before jumping in the driver’s seat. 

We were twenty minutes on the road before I uttered a word. “No, that was all wrong, it wasn’t supposed to be like that!”

Alice glanced at me and I silenced myself. _Shit she doesn’t know I know._ I recovered, “Didn’t you see what was supposed to happen?”

“I-I don’t know, there were so many visions and then your involvement just makes it worse and I can’t see anything!” Alice said.

I sighed and looked away. My involvement _did_ make everything worse. At least Edward left with Bella at the end. But I was still dissatisfied. 

Alice muttered quietly, “I’m sorry Alia, I didn’t mean you made it worse.”

“I know Alice, I know.”

Jo returned to the house later that night and said she just gave them a good enough beating that they would think twice before going after anyone else ever again. Carlisle looked concerned and said that he would go deal with them further; Edward mentioned that those specific men had previous crimes on their mind. 

Edward didn’t come home and he wasn’t at school on Monday either. I asked the family but they didn’t know. Upon my wanderings during an extra long bathroom break, I noticed Bella walking to gym class. 

“Bella, hey,” I said. “Are you doing okay? Since...Port Angeles?”

“Hi Alia,” she said, she stared at me for a couple seconds and bit her lip. “Yeah I’m fine, your friend, that really beautiful girl, she was really cool.”

I smiled, “yeah that’s another distant cousin, her name is Josephine.”

“Is she a...vampire too?” Bella looked me straight in the eyes, her face turning red. 

“Did Edward talk to you?” I said. Bella nodded. 

Alice suddenly appeared before us. “Hi Bella! I’m Alice,” she said. 

Bella almost fell backwards from the surprise, I caught her before she fell. I was starting to get used to being snuck up on. 

I gave Alice a “what the fuck” look and she ignored me. 

“You should come over to our house today Bella, since you know now,” Alice said, her voice as sweet as honey. 

“A-are you sure?” Bella said, she was looking at me, with hope. 

I said, “I...I don’t know...”

Alice waved over me dismissively. “Yes of course we’re sure! You have to meet the rest of the family, Jo will be there too,” Alice said with a wink.

Bella smiled widely and then ran off to her gym class. I turned to Alice. “What in the fuck was that? Are you all gonna kill her since she knows?”

Alice rolled her eyes at me. “No stupid! Everyone overheard already, Rosalie stormed off - she’s majorly pissed, and I think it’ll be good for us all to be on the same page.”

“But this isn’t how it’s supposed to go!”

“Why do you keep saying that? I’m the one that sees the future, remember?” Alice said, eyebrows raised. 

“Whatever Alice, do what you want,” I said and walked to class. 

********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* 

Bella followed Alice and I in her truck as we led her to the Cullen residence. Alice and I were not speaking and the radio blared classic rock while we tried to ignore the other was there. 

Edward was inside, standing by the window in the living room looking positively tortured. His eyes were sallow and bluish, and black as night. I became concerned he would lose his temper today from the glare on his face upon seeing the three of us walk in. 

I took Bella over to the couch and offered her a seat. Jo appeared and sat next to her, Bella jumped with a fright. 

“Oh sorry babe, I forget to act human sometimes,” Jo said with an apologetic smile.

Bella hesitated to look her in the eyes but then smiled widely, “no it’s okay. You saved me...I never got to thank you.”

Jo’s eyes glinted as she took Bella’s hand and kissed it, “anytime _querida._ ” I thought I saw Jo take a sniff before she let go of her. 

I almost laughed when I saw Bella turn beat red. Oh I did not envy her paleness. 

“So Bella, you already met Carlisle, Alice, and Jo. This is Emmet, Rosalie, Esme and Jasper,” I said to her as the others entered the room at a more human pace. Jasper stood furthest away with his hand gripping the railing of the stair tightly. Carlisle stood with Esme with a kind smile on his face.

Esme walked forward slowly and reached out her hand. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you Bella dear,” she said. 

“Th-thanks,” she said. Her face was showing no signs of reduced redness. 

Bella and I glanced at Edward and he looked our way. His eyes flickered between us both and I felt a pressure between my eyes. _Get out_ , I thought loudly. At that moment I wished I could read his mind, no way he’d get to read mine.

He wrinkled his brows so I knew he got the message. Rosalie stood there glaring at us all, an eyebrow raised, probably wondering why she was summoned in the first place. 

“Now that Bella knows, I think we all just need to get to know each other, right Edward?” Alice said.

There was a low “hmmm” from the corner he stood in. I wondered why he lacked….his usual charm. He looked withdrawn and cold, as brooding as ever, but it was no longer mysteriously enticing but more of a ‘leave me alone’ disposition. He suddenly glared at Rosalie, “what do you want from me Rose?”

Rosalie hissed at him, “a spine.” And she left. Emmet sighed and followed her. 

“Weeeell that was awkward,” Jo said, raising her brows. “Bella, do you want a tour of the house? The backyard is really well done.”

She bit her lip and looked up at Jo, “um, sure.” Bella smiled at me cautiously. 

Jo held out her hand and Bella took it without hesitation. I cocked my head to the side and watched as they walked out of the room, I turned to Edward, he was staring at me. “Aren’t you going to join them?” I said. 

Edward set his jaw and his mouth frowned slightly before he followed. Alice looked at me like she was about to say something but quickly vanished. Carlisle received a page from the hospital and bid us goodbye for the rest of the night.

“And then there were two…” I said to Esme. 

She smiled at me, but it was full of worry. “Honey, how are you holding up?”

“I’m fine Esme, school is so busy I barely have time to think about anything else,” I lied. I don’t think she believed me but she gave me a hug and left me alone. 

Bella was busy enough and I didn’t want to bother them, so I stayed in my room studying for a chemistry test for most of the evening. I’ll be damned before some boy trouble is going to affect my grades. I heard the thunderous roar of her truck starting and observed Jo waving goodbye. I shook my head and wondered if she had third wheeled Bella and Edward the entire time. For that I secretly loved Jo even more than I already did. 

After a few more hours I grew tired of studying and went to the kitchen for some cookies. It was almost midnight and after having my snack I passed through the living room and looked up at the moon. It was nearly full, only a couple more days and I would make my last attempt to go home. I wondered how much the magic would hurt this time. The burn on my side started to scar, I doused it with lemon juice twice a day to see if it would heal with less of a mark - here’s hoping. 

I walked by the piano and stopped. I heard Edward playing occasionally over the past month, though I realized now that I hadn’t heard him play the piano at all since Bella arrived. That was strange to me since he was supposed to have written her a song. One more thing I ruined most likely. 

I sat at the piano, and remembered the lessons I took as a child. I had played piano up until high school - forced by my parents. Though it enabled me to learn one of my favourite songs, my novice skills could never do it justice but I fumbled across the keys, playing the main melody. 

“Opus twenty-eight, number four, prelude in E minor?” Edward said behind me. 

I got startled and played the wrong key. The song itself made me emotional. “Chopin demanded that they play this piece at his own funeral,” I said. “It’s so beautiful, but I think I’m making it sound like a dying cat.” 

He was sitting beside me in an instant, our thighs were touching and though he was ice cold I felt heat flush through me. Without a word he started playing the piece, it was the most tragic rendition I had ever heard, I could feel the waves of sadness rolling through the air as he delicately ran his hands across the keys with a grace and fluidity I never saw the likes of before. 

At the end of his last note I blinked and tears fell across my cheeks. I was about to wipe them when Edward grabbed my hands. My heart raced at his touch. He put my hands down on my lap and held my face. He then rubbed away my tears gently with his thumbs. A drop was missed which slid down my cheek and lingered on my jaw, suddenly he leaned in and licked it away. I was a prisoner in his hands and didn’t dare move a muscle. My heart practically exploded in my chest and as he moved away I was certain he heard it like a jackhammer.

“You play it so beautifully,” I said with a sniff. I felt more tears behind my eyes and forced them back. 

“You can only play to the depths which you feel,” he said, a haunted look in his eyes. He lowered his hands, got up, and left. 

I sat there in silence many minutes after he left and zoned out. I was tired and angry. Sad and feeling pathetic. I decided to go into the kitchen and found what I was looking for, wine. I took the bottle up to my room and poured myself a glass, it was a citrus white that tasted sweet and fresh. 

After about an hour I was halfway through the bottle and decided to go take a walk in the middle of the night. My head was buzzing and for at least a few hours I knew I would feel lighter. I also knew that I would feel even worse after the buzz disappeared, but that was a later problem. For now, I wanted distraction and levity. I wandered into the woods, with a flashlight - I wasn’t stupid drunk. I might have stumbled across a few branches and sticks but I made my way through the dark. 

“This must be how Bella feels,” I said to myself and laughed obnoxiously with a snort.

Then I tripped over a particularly large rock and was about to fall head first into a ditch when cold arms wrapped around my body. 

“What are you doing out here?” Edward said. 

I blinked slowly and several times before answering, “why are you following me? Just leave me alone.” I wrenched myself out of his arms and walked in the opposite direction, back towards the house. 

“You’re drunk,” he said, his voice thick with disappointment. 

“I picked my poison, I’m indifferent now,” I said, leaning against a tree to maintain balance. 

“You should know better,” he said, reaching towards me.

“But I don’t...I drink to drown,” I said, making a mock toast with the bottle. I chugged the last of the wine and threw the bottle on the ground. It shattered on a rock and I stumbled my way back to the house. Edward didn’t follow me.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alia spends the day at school thinking about her feelings...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a shorter chapter this time, Alia has some serious interior dialogue going on and comes to a revelation...
> 
> We're also getting ready for a sizzling finale...
> 
> Thank you guys for reading and your amazing comments! They really make my day =)

I woke up with a small headache but the hangover was not even the worst part. The fact that Edward saw me in all my drunken grace was mortifying. I took a shower and got ready for school, I skipped breakfast and went outside with a plastic bag to clean up the mess I had made. At least some messes were in my control to clean. I went to where I threw the bottle and found it free of all glass and bottle fragments. 

_Edward, why are you always cleaning my messes?_ I thought, regret filled me up. 

I thought about skipping school to continue my path of poor choices but opted to be better and dragged my ass to the car. Rosalie and Emmet waited for me, I looked around for everyone else. 

“They’ve gone on ahead in Edward’s car,” Rosalie said. Her voice had grown softer with me over the last few days, I couldn’t help but feel that I just didn’t deserve it. 

During English I was relieved that it was a reading period. Lisa, Jenny, and I sat in the second last row on the window side of the classroom. The grey clouds cast a dark shadow, I could smell the rain before it came. Everything felt more damp than usual, even the desks we sat in were cool to the touch. 

“So, Alia,” Lisa whispered. 

I looked up from my book, “mm?”

“Jen and I were wondering, what’s going on with you and Edward?” Her eyes lit up with mischief, I knew she wasn’t the type to let a topic go once her mind was set. 

I gave a humorless smile, “what do you mean? I-we have nothing going on,” I said. 

They both gave each other a look. “Well, it seems you always hang around each other, and Jen and I see him staring at you when you’re not looking. It’s literally always when you’re not looking,” Jenny said. 

My heart beat slightly faster. “Does he?” Then I blinked and shook my head. “No, I can’t,” I said. “He has someone already.”

“What!” Jenny almost stood. 

The teacher grunted at us to keep quiet then went back to typing into their laptop.

Jenny whispered, “whoever he’s with doesn’t matter, ‘cause girl, he’s clearly got it for you!”

I started at them both with a haughty glare, “it wouldn’t matter, because it’s not right.”

They raised their brows at me. Lisa huffed a quiet laugh. “Oh my god, you seriously think you’re Jane don’t you?”

“What?” I said, annoyed. Jenny snickered.

Lisa adjusted her glasses and looked down her nose at me comically, “well, the other day when you were ranting to us about how amazing Jane Eyre is as a character - how she dealt with Mr. Rochester and all that - you’re literally trying to be the same virtuous person. But hon, let me tell you, in the real world that doesn’t matter. Take what you can and keep it, I say, a guy like him is not going to hang around forever.”

Jenny added, “we’re just looking out for you Alia. Guys our age - let alone in general - just don’t look at someone the way he looks at you, we’re pointing it out because it’s so...intense.”

“I appreciate you looking out for me, but may the spirit of Jane be with me, even the idea of true love couldn’t sway her!” I snapped by book shut and asked to be excused. 

“There’s conviction and then there’s straight up stubbornness,” I heard one of them say behind me. 

I snuck away into the school library to finish reading Frankenstein. My focus kept waning but I sat in between the shelves of outdated textbooks and tried my best. I thought about how Victor Frankenstein thought he was doing the right thing and thought everything was happening to him unfairly - he didn’t realize how much he hurt those around him, especially the one he vowed to love, his supposedly greatest creation. Yet when the time came for him to express his compassion he pushed the creature away. 

I wondered if Edward thought this was the fate he would be dealt from the world. That amidst all the vanity and beauty vampires possessed, that as soon as a human would encounter their reality - the blood, the coldness, the hunger that would never subside, they would treat him like a beast. Or like an abomination that deserved no kindness or empathy. Perhaps he wondered that, once all the beauty was stripped away, what was left to care for? 

The thought of Edward ever being in a position where the world turned its back on him violently brought me to tears. I had to take a good hard look at my emotions, his face was all that I had to dream of. I was alone in this world, my family and friends lost forever, and he was the only thing that made me feel - visible. I felt real and grounded. Any love I had felt previously was inconsequential now, he was the unstoppable force that resided in me, the proverbial stake through the heart. I chuckled quietly at my own joke and wiped my tears. 

I felt a sting in my chest when I realized for the first time and said, “I love him.” Resigned, I closed my eyes and prepared to mentally bury myself.

At the end of the day I saw Rosalie waiting by Emmet’s jeep. “Emmet’s gone off with the rest of them to hunt before the big game.”

“The game?” I said as thunder roared in the distance. Then it dawned on me, it was finally time for the encounter.

Rosalie opened the door for me from the driver’s seat. “Yeah, Alice predicted the storm - it’s pretty obvious now, but we’ll be playing the game tonight.”

I hesitated for a moment, then I saw Bella walking to her truck. “Hey Bella! There’s a ballgame tonight, you better come, Edward will bring you!”

She waved at me and said, “o-okay thanks Alia!”

Rosalie glared daggers at me. “Why are you inviting her? One human is enough.” Even her jabs didn’t have the same edge they used to. 

“I’m sorry Rosalie, I know it’s hard for you to watch us humans ruin our lives,” I said. “I just want you to know that you’re not a monster, you can’t help what you are. You’re another being on this earth that has intrinsic value. While I understand you wouldn’t have chosen this, everyone is different and we all make different choices. But I know underneath all your….attitude, you’re being kind.”

She pulled out of the parking lot narrowing her eyes. “Well, I guess you’re not that stupid after all.” She said with a small smile.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for some vampire baseball! Alia also loses her shit...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for this chapter: violence and fighting
> 
> Recommended listening for the first half of this chapter: "The Bird and the Worm" - The Used
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv9zDC5HaKs  
> ^link to youtube for the song
> 
> thank you guys for patiently awaiting this chapter! Hope everyone is doing well and thank you for your comments and kudos <3
> 
> Much love, xoxo.

It was the evening of the ballgame and the storm clouds were rumbling on queue to Alice’s visions. We rode in Emmet’s truck while the others ran to the field. I didn’t see Edward yet but expected him to show up with Bella, Rosalie informed him for me, the thought of his reaction to my inviting Bella gave me chills. The grey clouds hovered over the field as lightning lit up the sky. The thunder roared in the storm above us and I felt tiny flecks of moisture on my nose. There was a slight chill in the air, but I adored storms and felt my nerves sizzling with excitement. The only problem was the pang of anxiety in my chest that tightened at the thought of things going awry.

My plans were nearly at their completion, I had one more set of herbs and a full moon to prepare my way home soon. Fox or no fox, I was going to get out of here one way or another. I realized that my presence would always burden Edward. He and Bella couldn’t move on properly with me in the picture. I loved him enough to not cause him any more pain than I already did.

In the case my journey home didn’t work, I could at least move somewhere else and go to school. I would tell them that I’d be moving out once school was over, Carlisle gave me a passport and a social security number. Perhaps I would travel like Alice did, to find some answers about the elusive magic we experimented with. 

Esme got me a cute jersey even though I wouldn't be playing. I wondered if one wrong hit of the ball would drive a hole through my head like a shotgun. Then I wondered how thirsty they would be afterwards. I shook my screwed up musings aside as Alice and I sat together in the back of the jeep. Her and I weren’t quite speaking yet so it was awkward, but she was nice enough to open the door for me once we got to the field. Before I could say thanks she raced off to pitch.

Emmet was up to bat in less than a second. “Throw me a practice ball Alice! Alia, I’ll show you how it’s done!” Emmet yelled over the thunder with a smirk. 

I grinned at him and nodded. “Show me what you got caveman!”

Alice threw him a curveball with her unique fluid grace and he hit it straight out of the woods. The thunderous roar of the bat was only slightly uncomfortable to my human ears. Edward suddenly appeared midfield with a ball in his hand and waved it at Emmet. “You’re out!” He smiled and my stomach clenched. 

I looked around him but didn’t see Bella. He glanced over at me and the smile slowly vanished from his lips.

“Where’s Bella?” I yelled. 

Edward threw the ball in the air and caught it, over and over again. “I told her not to come, I think Jo’s keeping her company.”

My senses froze. The blood thickened in my head and my heart thudded through my ears. This was it, this was the main event. If she misses this, that means everything I did was for nothing. _No! I had to go get her._

____

____

I ran to Emmet’s car, he parked close enough to the field since his jeep could offroad. I reached the car shortly after sprinting. I planned to go get her though I had no idea how much time we had left. I climbed into the driver’s seat when something came crashing down on the hood, the car jerked unsteadily and my head whipped forwards. My head hit the steering wheel, I rubbed it and felt wetness on my fingers. My head was bleeding. I then looked up and stared into blood red eyes and an ivory smile. Panic rushed through me as my throat tightened. 

“Well well, aren’t you a lovely snack?” A gravelly voice said, his blonde hair fell over his temples and he wore a wooly coat with no shirt underneath.

“James, you better share,” said another voice beside me. A red eyed vampire with wild red hair. 

I resigned myself to the knowledge that I had fully failed as I stared at James and Victoria. I waited for Laurent to show up, and right on queue, there he was staring at me with his red eyes as the blood lust overtook them. I felt a drop of blood slide down the side of my face.

A low growl emitted from behind me but before I could see anything, James lifted me by the neck and threw me out of the car. I collided with a tree and felt pain through my back and neck, I crumpled onto the ground. I looked up to see James above me, a crazed look in his eye. My eyes watered from the pain and I lifted a hand to block him from touching me. 

“She’s mine!” Edward hissed. 

From what I could see beyond James’ pallid face were the Cullens toe to toe with Victoria and Laurent. Edward ran up to James and grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him away from me. I crawled away as Edward threw James into the ground, the sound was like thunder. 

Victoria tried to get at me but Emmet held her back while Rosalie grabbed her head. Laurent started to back away, when Carlisle stopped him - it seemed as though they were talking. 

James and Edward fought. James threw a punch at Edward and I screamed when I saw cracks along his neck. Edward plowed into James and put him in a chokehold. James flipped Edward over and then climbed on top of him. Jasper stepped in and pushed James off of Edward. Edward recovered and went for James with a flying punch, but James dodged at the last second and grabbed a hold of Edward’s arm. 

I heard a horrifying crack as though all the windows of a building had shattered. 

James had bit into Edward’s arm and ripped it off before Jasper pulled back James’ head and twisted. I felt myself go numb as I saw Edward fall back, his limb lying there beside him. 

“No, no! Edward!” I screamed. I gathered all my strength, and though my sides stung as I moved, I crawled to him. 

Alice and Jasper ripped James apart and dragged his appendages away while Emmet and Rosalie did the same with Victoria. 

“Edward, please tell me you’re okay, please be okay,” I said, crying. He lay there unconscious. 

Carlisle rushed over and took Edward’s arm and connected it to the stump at his shoulder, his body seemed to be made of some kind of silvery stone on the inside. “We can’t move him like this, he needs blood,” Carlisle said aloud. 

“I’ll go hunt!” Alice said, her voice shaking. 

“No,” I said. “He needs blood now...human blood,” I said. I found a sharp rock on the ground and slit my wrist before Carlisle could stop me. It stung and pained me, but it was nothing compared to seeing Edward laying on the grass so motionless. 

I placed my wrist on Edward’s mouth, his eyes were closed and as unmoving as a real corpse. My stomach twisted and heavy. I just felt his mouth on my wrist, and the tension lightened only when I felt his lips tighten around the wound. 

He moaned and I could finally breathe. Carlisle held his arm to his body as Edward drank. My body suddenly bloomed with heat and I felt a deep longing to be as close to him as possible as he sucked on my wrist. My chest tightened and my breasts felt swollen, a desire I had long suppressed emerged from within me. 

Edward grabbed my arm with both hands, both attached safely to his body, and continued to drink. I began to feel slightly lightheaded and dizzy. 

“Edward! You have to stop now, stop!” Carlisle said. 

I felt my arm going numb as the world faded to black and all the shouting voices gradually fell into silence. 

*************** **************** **************** ***************** *************** *****************

I awoke slowly, my eyes adjusting. I was in my bedroom, the bed and pillows felt soft and familiar underneath me. I turned my head and saw Alice laying beside me with her eyes closed. 

“You’re finally awake” Alice said, eyes still closed. 

When I tried lifting my upper body up to sit down, one second she was in front of me, the next she was beside me helping me up.

“Th-thanks Alice,” I said. “What happened?”

Alice sat at the edge of the bed with her body towards me. Her eyes were a dark brown with flecks of bronze today. “Those vampires, they heard us playing and wanted to join. But then they caught your scent and James - the one attacking you just wouldn’t stop. We ended up taking care of James and Victoria - she was the redhead that Emmet and Rosalie dealt with. They were together…” 

“And the other..?” I said. 

“Laurent...well Carlisle talked to him and apparently he was only with the other two out of convenience. He said he didn’t mean to attack ‘our pet’,” she said rolling her eyes. “He mentioned that he was intrigued by our way of living, so Carlisle sent him to Alaska to meet with the Denali clan.”

“Is Edward okay?”

Alice looked at me gratefully, “Alia, if it weren’t for you, Edward may have been in weeks of excruciating pain. Your blood saved him,” she said. 

I leaned back and sighed in relief. As long as he was safe. 

“Now do you mind explaining to me why you kept screaming ‘this isn't right’ and then ran to the car in the first place?” Alice said. 

I debated it for a few seconds before realizing that there was no point in hiding the truth from her anymore. I knew Alice was smart enough to have figured it out, I would just be confirming her deductions. 

I took a deep breath, “I-I saw before I came here, I knew that this story was about Edward and Bella. They’re soulmates. I saw how they met, Edward becomes obsessed with her blood, and then he saves her. She falls for him, and he for her. He takes her to the meadow, he introduces her to the family. He takes her to the ballgame, and then James tries to attack her, but it doesn’t end in a fight.”

“James runs but waits to track her while we help her escape,” Alice said, her eyes widening. “How did you fit into this picture?”

I snorted. “I don’t fit in at all. I’m in the same case as you Alice, my involvement only puts me in the dark, I know nothing. All I had was that one vision of them with a life together, but now I’ve ruined everything.” I teared up and wished that this was all just a bad dream. 

Alice touched my chin with her cool fingers. “No.” She said firmly. “You didn’t ruin anything, your presence may be causing blindspots, but did you ever think that what’s meant to be doesn’t fucking matter?”

I gave her a look, “how is it that you, the one with all the visions, is saying that to me? We’re chained to our fates!” I said. 

Alice shook her head. “Alia, I only see outcomes. How can there be one single fate when everything I see is ever changing?”

“They were meant to be together…” I said. “No matter the outcome, they end up together, tell me you didn’t see that.”

Alice’s silence told me everything I needed to know. 

After Alice gave me some pain meds and another round of her ‘fuck fate’ pep talk that wasn’t working, I heard the thumping of f feet up the stairs. There was a quiet knock and Bella poked her head in my room. 

“Hey Bella,” I said.

She walked in and knelt at my bedside, taking my hand. “Alia, I was so worried, how are you?” She said. Her brows knit into worry. 

Jo appeared beside her and I was surprised to notice Bella didn’t flinch. In fact they were oddly close. I paid it no mind as I explained to Bella my state of floating due to the drugs. Alice started shooing them away to give me space to rest after a few minutes of chit chat. I said my thank you’s and started to drift back to sleep.

“Bella, do you want to go to the lake with me?” I heard Jo say as they left.

“Uh-Uhm sure,” Bella responded. 

Then I was unconscious again. This time in much less pain.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alia decides to make one last attempt at leaving, she's screwed up everything else and has nothing left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning: folks! you will be entering SMUTSVILLE in this chapter. Beware. 
> 
> Recommended listening: Drink to Drown - Stand Atlantic (this is the official theme of Alia and Edward and the song that kind of ran through this entire story for me - just listen to the lyrics, it may sound familiar...hehehe)
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC7-dJj1eY4
> 
> ^link to the song on Youtube
> 
> \-------------------------------------
> 
> Thank you so much for all your kudos and comments, I'm so excited for you to read this chapter and the last one. This story has been so much fun to write. I'm going to make the last chapter extra long so it may take a a few days to upload but I'll make it as awesome as I can =) 
> 
> Love ya, xoxo.

It was the night of the full moon and only a single day had passed since my talk with Alice. My injuries still stung but I felt better since Carlisle gave me a blood transfusion. I inquired to Esme during her visit with me on where Edward was, she stroked my cheek and told me that he felt so guilty about almost killing me he disappeared for several days. 

I almost rolled my eyes but knew it would hurt Esme’s feelings, instead I squeezed her hand and assured her that he’d return and that it was of my own choice to help him. “If he needed all my blood to live, I would give it,” I admitted. It sounded dramatic when I said it aloud, but I only felt conviction when I said it. 

Esme smiled at me and caressed my cheek before leaving me for the night. 

“I love you Esme, I just need you to know that you’ve been a mother to me ever since I came here, and for that I could never tell you how thankful I feel,” I said aloud as she closed the door, I knew she’d hear. 

I felt a tug at my chest when I realized I would not be able to say goodbye to Alice, Jasper, Emmet, or even Rosalie. But the more people I included in my goodbyes would be more people to stop me. My mind wandered to where Edward could possibly be but he would make it the most hard, if I saw him again I don’t think I could go through with my plan. I left a note underneath my pillow for them to find when I was gone. I packed my things in a backpack on the off chance the magic failed me, and all the clothes I could fit into a side bag. Then I waited for darkness.

After a few hours, when the night settled in, I gathered my things, popped some more pain meds and ventured out. I sprinted between the house and the woods with my backpack side bag, running through the trees. It wasn’t very graceful but damn it the stuff was heavy. I tried to make as little noise as possible though, I wasn’t sure how sensitive their hearing would be or if they’d even be focused on the forest. I walked to the lake where Edward had found me on that fateful day, it was a long hike that took over an hour but with my map and a flashlight, I found my way. 

The wood was covered in shadow, one might think I’d be scared on my own. Yes I did keep thinking of Slenderman but somehow that didn’t frighten me. James kept coming into my thoughts, and though I knew he was dead, the thought of his murderous face trying to kill me sent chills up my spine. 

I heard a rustling sound from behind me and suddenly I pictured the look in James’ eyes when he grabbed me by the throat. I stopped and crouched. I felt my body go into a full panic attack and tried to calm myself down as I turned around to see the source of the sound 

A fox emerged from the forest, it’s tail whipped back and forth as it gazed at me.

“Is it really you?” I said. 

It’s glinted knowingly and at this point I did not know whether it was a sign or I was truly insane but I decided it no longer mattered. I just wanted to go home. 

The trees cleared out ahead of me, and I could see the lake. Moonlight shone off the ripples in waves of opal. It could have felt beautiful, and yet all I noticed was the darkness in between the light. 

I laid down the herbs by the shore of the lake, and lit a match. Once they started burning, I inhaled deeply and found my head spinning faster than when I did it before. I took my shoes off and wandered into the water fully clothed, it was ice cold and I began to shiver, but I forced myself to concentrate. I shut my eyes and thought about the bridge, my parents and my friends. I suddenly felt my body being pulled in a specific direction and I floated my way over. 

I lost my footing on some slippery rocks and fell into the depth of the lake, my body started sinking and for a moment I thought I may be falling back into the void that claimed me all those months ago from my world. When I thought the darkness would devour me, I felt a violent rush of movement. 

Arms were around my waist and they dragged me out of the water. The gravel dragged against my skin as I was put down roughly. 

“Alia, what the fuck were you doing?” Edward said.

I was in his arms shaking, I looked in the distance and saw the fox glance at me. It seemed to nod and then jumped out of view. 

“No! I was trying to get home! I think I almost did too...why did you drag me out?” I cried. 

“You were drowning!” Edward yelled. The anger in voice made me really look at him and I noticed that his eyes were not a deep crimson from drinking my blood , but a combination with the hazel - they were rose gold. My breath caught in my throat. 

I shook my head. “I was trying to leave! I don’t belong here,” I said, tears streaming down my face. I pushed him away and started walking. 

“It doesn’t matter where you came from, you belong here, with me,” Edward said. 

I turned around, on my last nerve, on my last thread. “You belong with HER!”

Edward appeared directly in front of me and placed his hands on my shoulders, “Bella is good, she is calm and predictable and kind. Her scent thrills me and threatens my humanity.”

I backed up to get away from him, I couldn’t hear this even if it’s what I was supposed to hear.

He stormed up to me and shoved me against a tree, his hands slammed on either side of my head, I was trapped. “You make me feel...alive. You kept telling me I’m supposed to be with Bella, yet every time I’m with her all I can think about is you. Your blood smells wonderful, but the way you make me feel is completely separate from the bloodlust. You make me insane, you drive me fucking crazy...”

I lost all sense of barriers and willpower as he crushed his lips to mine. I grabbed the back of his head and fisted his hair. He moaned as our lips crashed into each other over and over again. He gripped my arm so tight it began to hurt, I winced in pain and he let go but kept kissing me. He lifted my legs around his waist so that I was pinned against the tree and his body. 

His tongue danced in my mouth as I felt everything I suppressed come flooding out. It was only him and I. Nothing else mattered to me anymore. His tongue felt wet and cool on my lips as he licked and sucked on my mouth. I bit his lip and he pushed against me. His erection rubbed against my core, and I let out a cry. 

“When I tasted your blood Alia...” he said as he kissed my jawline and then licked from my collarbone to my neck. “I’m so sorry I almost hurt you, I-I could have killed you.” He lifted his head up to look me in the eyes, his eyes were full of sorrow. 

I lifted my hand to his cheek, smooth like marble. “Even if it took all of me, I would save you every time.”

Something changed in his gaze, and then a different kind of hunger seized us both. He kissed me again, slow and deep.

“Edward, I need you,” I said between kisses. Desperation layered my voice, I had nothing else but this. 

“I thought you would never say that,” he whispered in my ear. He ripped my blouse open and my breasts spilled out into the cool night air. My whole body was still wet from the lake. 

I gasped as he put a mouth on my breast, and thumbed the other. I moaned in pleasure as his cold tongue flicked against my hard nipple. He gently squeezed the other breast. I kept grinding against him until he set me down and backed up. He knelt in front of me and peeled off my jeans and underwear. I felt myself flush at being so exposed in front of him. He traced his long fingers down my thighs swirling patterns and looked up at me.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said, his voice huskier than I had ever heard it. He kissed me from the base of my ankle, moving upwards past my knee, up my thigh. He then gently nudged my legs apart.

I took a sharp inhale of breath as he ran his tongue along my slit. His cool temperature did nothing to soothe my nerves as I nearly crested just then. He firmly gripped my thighs apart and licked up and down. He then started sucking on my clit and teased my entrance with his fingers. I moaned softly at his caresses. He slowly pushed a finger into me. I gasped in pleasure, and he pushed a second in. The fullness felt so right, and yet it was not enough. I needed him, completely. 

I nearly came from his mouth work but then I pushed at his shoulders. He looked up at me, his lips glistening with my wetness. I felt my face fill with heat as I watched him. 

“You know I can tell when you blush right?” He said with a crooked smile. I wiped his lips with my hand gently and stroked my fingers along his mouth. 

“I need you, now,” I said. “Please.”

He stepped back and unbuttoned his shirt, he slid it off his pale marble body and laid it on the ground. His body glistened in the light of the full moon and I couldn't help myself as I all but ran to him. Upon the collision, he lifted me into his arms and gently lowered me onto his shirt. He then kissed me so deeply I felt a tingling throughout my entire body. 

His impeccable carved body was heavy on top of me but it felt so right. I undid his belt and unbuttoned his pants. He laughed against my mouth for a second. “Eager are we?”

I grabbed him by the nape of the neck and kissed him hard. I was beyond words. He palmed my breasts with one hand while I rubbed against him. With his other hand, he freed his hardness and I felt it slap against my stomach. The weight of it alone felt daunting but all I wanted was for him to shove it into me. 

“I don’t want to hurt you Alia, my strength may be too much,” he said, panting slightly. 

I caressed the side of his face with the back of my fingers. Then I ran my hands along his back. “I know you’d never hurt me Edward, I want this,” I said.

“Are you sure?” He said, looking into my eyes.

I kissed him again, “yes,” I said. “A thousand times yes.”

The tip of his cock brushed my entrance, he slid in slowly, I winced a little at the widening of my body but urged him to continue. He was so large it took time to get used to, but he played with my nipples while he entered me slowly and the more I moaned in pleasure the easier it became for him to slide in. 

We both grunted when he entered me to the hilt, I arched my back as he began to thrust into me. His hand was playing with my nipple as he slowly fucked me into oblivion. With each thrust my world eroded and shattered, I felt the edge of a rose gold horizon and I jumped off it; we jumped off together. He continued thrusting, his tempo increasing, as his composure wore off with every thrust. He grunted animalistically as I moaned with pleasure. I heard his hands boring holes in the dirt as he channeled his vampiric strength into the ground.

“Holy fuck Alia,” he said and he came inside me with a deep final thrust as I nearly screamed from my orgasm. 

We held each other as he rolled over to lay beside me. I was sweating and draped a leg over him. 

“I’m going to be so sore,” I said absentmindedly. 

Edward looked at me concerned, “did I hurt you?”

I ran my fingers up his bare chest. “Not as much as I hurt you...I’m so sorry Edward.”

He took my hand and laced our fingers together. Rose gold eyes met my black ones, we stared at each other wordlessly for a long time. 

“I love you Alia Lee.”

I leaned my face to his and kissed him, I don’t think I could ever get tired of this. 

“I love you Edward Cullen.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fluff/smut ending suiting our fluffy angsty smut story :P

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings - some smut at the end... =D
> 
> Thanks for reading all the way up to the end folks! I thoroughly enjoyed writing this and who knows, perhaps we'll visit Edward and Alia again in the future for some one shots ;)
> 
> Thank you all for your kudos and lovely comments, I hope you enjoyed the story <3 Check out the end notes for a list of all the songs I had in mind for this story!
> 
> love ya! xoxo.

“I’m never playing Dutch Blitz with you guys again,” I said with a frown. 

Rosalie and Alice shared a wicked smile, “don’t be a sore loser hon.”

I rolled my eyes, “it’s not fair when you have super speed! Why don’t we play Star Wars Trivial Pursuit again?”

Edward laughed beside me, “my love, not all of us are experts in the world of George Lucas.”

“Translation, not all of us are huge nerds,” Emmet corrected with a wide grin. 

“Sorry you don’t know pop culture, grandpa,” I fired back at Emmet. 

Emmet smirked and leaned towards me from across the dining table, “If I’m your grandpa, Edward’s your great great-”

Esme whacked him on the back of the head with her hand, it was a love tap but the sound was like a cracking whip. “Now now, we all have games we’re good at.” 

We all laughed as Emmet feigned pain. My face hurt from smiling so hard and I wondered if this sort of happiness was even possible. Edward sat beside me as we spent our second game night with everyone, I had suggested it a while ago and was surprised to find that they never played any board games created in the last fifty years. Perhaps I was betting on myself when I chose the Trivial Pursuit Stars Wars edition...but when it came to going up against beings with supernatural powers, I was going to take every advantage I could!

Carlisle went to the pile of board games that he purchased that were in the living room - I had only asked him to bring a few but he too was a victim of vampiric excess. It seemed like he had bought the entire store. He came back into the dining room with several boxes and made suggestions. “Let’s play this one, Catan?”

Jasper spoke from the other side of the dining table, “tired of me whooping y'all at Monopoly?”

Alice laughed, “no darling, we’re just tired of Jo flipping the board when she gets mad about going bankrupt.”

Jo rolled her eyes, “that game is ridiculous and vile, why did I have to give up my hotels!”

I laughed and said, “Jo, you can’t just buy Park Place and Boardwalk and expect it to carry you through the game just because they’re the most expensive, that’s a rookie move.”

She tapped her manicured fingers on the table and frowned, “I hate that game.”

“Everyone hates Monopoly,” I said, laughing. 

I then excused myself and went to the bathroom. Upon washing my hands I looked up at the mirror and gazed at my reflection, I had spent a lot more time outside in the last week helping Esme in the garden and going out with Edward, my skin had tanned to a warm dark brown. My hair grew longer in its black ringlets and fell past my shoulders, I ran my fingers over my hair and flipped it around until I liked the position. I rested my hands on the counter and leaned in, my brown eyes stared back at me, and they were happy. I couldn’t get that stupid grin off my face and thinking about why only made me grin harder. There was so much I had messed up but each day on the path of being truly honest with myself and those around me made me feel like I was in the right place. I felt now that everything would be okay, it might be hard, but I felt confident enough to handle it. Had I been shown this vision the night I was trying to leave - or drown myself as Edward thought - I wouldn’t believe that it was possible. 

I blushed thinking about the rest of that evening, Edward ran to the house and got me new clothes since the ones I had on were wet...and ripped. He carried me home and tucked me into bed and just sat in the room watching me all night. He told me that he didn’t trust me to stay yet and so I would be watched every night until he felt he could trust me again. He succeeded in doing so until I decided to start sleeping naked. I smiled widely thinking of him nearly stumbling over himself when he saw me emerge from the washroom in my birthday suit. 

A knock on the washroom door brought me to the present and I stepped out. Alice was leaning by the doorframe, twisting a lock of hair. She straightened when she saw me and gave me a hug. I hugged her back and smiled. 

“What’s that for?” I said. 

Alice leaned back and kept her hands on my shoulders, “that’s for not leaving.”

I looked down and wrung my hands, “I’m so sorry if I worried anyone, I’ve already caused a lot of drama here…”

“No, you haven’t. I’m just happy that you decided to stay, I mean...In a way I did see it coming, like a big blank canvas, I knew that was the right path,” she said, winking. 

I chuckled softly. “Sure you did, and what about the future now? Does my presence screw with you too much?”

Alice shook her head. “I can see most of our futures except if I concentrate on you and Edward. Sorry I won’t be of any help for you two - futurewise. You’ll just have to figure it out the old fashioned way.” She shrugged and steered me back to the dining room where we overheard Emmet suggest arm wrestling outside to even the scores. 

******************* ******************** ******************* ******************** ******************* ******************** 

The next day I drove to Bella’s house. Edward let me borrow his car while he went and planned a special trip for us for the holiday break. I was facing a violent storm of butterflies in my stomach at the thought of his plans but concentrated on the drive and Bella. 

I hadn’t seen her for a while and wanted to thank her for visiting me when I was injured. I felt it was necessary to see if she was doing okay, and I guiltily wondered if she knew that Edward and I were together. Though I had my suspicions about her and Jo, Edward told me they were spending time together frequently. My thoughts were confirmed, however, when I parked my car and walked up to Bella’s house. 

Charlie’s cruiser was gone and I assumed he was on duty today, but Bella’s red truck was parked nearby so I knocked on the door. There was no answer and I thought perhaps she would be out in the backyard. So I walked around the house to the back. There were some trees to walk around but when I turned to search for her, I leaned over the fence and my jaw dropped when I spotted her.

There was Bella, on the ground, her shirt riding up and Jo laying on top of her. They were locked into a passionate kiss and I could hear Bella moaning from where I stood. Jo kissed Bella’s neck and Bella fisted her hair. Bella could not see me as she was completely distracted by Jo, however, for a split second Jo looked up as she sucked on Bella’s earlobe and brought a hand up Bella’s shirt and looked right at me. She winked at me and gave me a smirk as she fondled Bella’s breasts, as if it was an invitation for me to keep watching. I finally turned away and felt my face flush at what I had just stood and watched. I whispered an “I’m sorry, enjoy,” that I knew only Jo would hear. 

My face was hot the entire drive back though I had a wide grin on my face. I probably looked completely deranged to passersby but it didn’t matter, I was happy that Bella was happy. Jo seemed...very happy as well I thought and chuckled to myself. I was definitely going to have to ask Alice if she saw that coming. I certainly didn’t, though it made me feel less guilty knowing I hadn’t snatched away her greatest love and left her completely alone. 

I decided I would try and visit her the following day and started packing my things that evening. Edward told me we were going to leave on the weekend and that we’d be gone for an entire week. My heart skipped a beat while I wondered where we were going. 

******************* ******************** ******************* ******************** ******************* ******************** 

I sat at the window, gazing outside at the snow covered mountains. I gripped my cup of hot chocolate and inhaled the sweet scent as warm shivers went through me. The snow was falling lightly over top of our cabin, and everything was covered in the sparkling white powder. Night was approaching, and then I saw him walking towards the cabin through the trees.

A smile appeared on my lips as I set my cup down and ran to the door. Edward walked in and I brushed off his shoulders which were covered in snow. He smiled at me and brushed the snow off his hair onto me.

“Hey hey! That’s fucking cold!” I said, laughing. I tried running but he caught me.

“You don’t get to run off anymore, remember?” He said. 

He pushed me to the couch, which was situated in front of a blazing fireplace, and he threw a blanket over me. He sat beside me as I curled into his body and nestled my head against his neck. “I’ll never run away, only towards,” I said. 

He kissed my forehead and I looked up at him, his eyes were a radiant gold and they never failed to quicken my pulse. I put my hand on his chest which quickly turned into an embrace. One moment we were cuddling, the next the blanket was off and I was on my back with Edward staring me down. 

“So Frankenstein’s monster fell in love with Jane Eyre,” he said. “What a masochist this creature is.” He flashed his crooked smile and I smiled back. 

“I guess I’m supposed to say that Jane is stupid but in all honesty I think that’s such a sexy pairing, there’s probably already a fanfic about it,” I said. “The creature is so big and strong, those terrifying yellow eyes really get her going…” I laughed.

“You are the strangest girl I have ever met Alia Lee,” he said, laughing. There were wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, I had never seen him laugh so hard. 

I smiled so wide I thought my face would crack. “Oh Edward, it’ll only get stranger, can you handle all this?” I said with a wiggle of my hips, caressing my chest. 

His gaze changed to one I can only describe as...predatory. 

******************* ******************** ******************* ******************** ******************* ******************** 

The next morning I woke up to the sound of sizzling and the heavenly aroma of eggs and hashbrowns. It was just after sunrise and I walked down the rickety stairs and found Edward making me breakfast. 

“Good morning beautiful,” he said from the stove. 

I felt so happy that I could burst, but I held it in. Eat first, burst later. I came up behind him and ran my hands along his back, which was bare - I was very happy he listened to my no shirts inside rule. I kissed his shoulder and wished him a good morning. 

“Eat first, at the rate we’ve been going you’re going to die of starvation,” he said. 

I laughed with a snort, “Edward, congratulations, I think being with me has improved your sense of humor.” I went on my tip toes and licked the back of his neck as he dished out the hashbrowns, “I am starving…”

He turned around slowly and kissed me, I ran my hands down his back, into his sweatpants, and squeezed his butt. It was muscular and yet soft to the touch. He laughed into my mouth. “You need to settle down, food first my love,” he said.

I smiled wickedly and kissed him, “I promise I’ll eat, but let me have dessert first.”

He looked at me, puzzled for a moment, which only made me smile more. I kissed his neck, and moved down, licking and kissing. His cock twitched in his pants as he realized what I was doing, he leaned back on the kitchen counter with a restrained sigh. I got on my knees and slid his pants down, his erection all but sprung towards my face. I held it in my hands, feeling the weight and girth, I looked up at him and he was staring at me, eyes blazing. I could see the question in his eyes, _what happens next?_

I licked his length, from the base up the shaft and heard a soft groan. I continued this way until his cock was significantly coated in my saliva, then I held it with one hand and looked him in the eyes as I slowly licked the palm of my dominant hand. I started pumping up and down.

“Alia…” His words were barely a whisper. 

I put my lips over the tip and licked the cleft, his low temperature made me think of popsicles. I moved my head forward and took his length into my mouth, little by little, bobbing to a gentle rhythm. Edward gave strangled groans and I noticed wood chips from the counter falling to the ground beside me. My own body reacted to his pleasure and I felt the wetness appear between my legs. I felt his pleasure within me, and I moaned with him. The vibrations in my throat from my own voice caused him to shiver. 

I sucked on his cock, going back and forth, taking it in deeper each time until I had both my hands on his thighs and I had his whole length down my throat. At times I felt like choking, but it felt too good to stop. Edward was completely still but I knew he was reeling from the pleasure. 

He let out a gasp and told me he was almost there, I prepared myself and felt his body convulse when warm liquid shot into the back of my throat. I continued to suck on him during his aftershocks until he was dry. Then I swallowed him entirely. His cum tasted of a sweet vanilla, something I would not tire of anytime soon.

I looked up and it was the first time I had ever seen him so dazed. He looked at me with a different kind of adoration and gratefulness. 

“You...are amazing,” he said. “If I had a soul, you sucked it out of my body...”

I pulled his sweats up and laughed as I wiped my mouth. I hugged him and kissed his chest. He snuggled me as tightly as my human body would allow and kissed the top of my head, my eyes, and then my mouth. My stomach growled and we both burst out laughing. 

“Okay those hash browns are looking about as fine as you right now,” I said and snatched the plate from behind him. “Also, I think you wrecked the counter.”

He looked at the pile of chipped wood on the floor and frowned, “they’re going to give us a bad review.” Then he blinked and shrugged. “Worth it.”

I laughed with a mouthful of potatoes and eggs. He then came to sit by me and took my free hand. We glanced out the window and at the snow covered winter wonderland. 

I took a sip of water and looked at Edward. “Thank you, for doing this and bringing me here. This is all...amazing.”

He stroked my face and tucked my hair behind my ear and his eyes softened. “I will take you everywhere you want to go, anywhere, anytime. I just need you with me.”

I smiled as tears came to my eyes, I wiped them away as Edward gazed at me with nothing but an endless love. I thought about one of my favourite quotes from Jane Eyre, however, it was ironically a Wuthering Heights quote that came to me: “he is more myself than I am...”

Edward smiled in recognition and joined me on the last line, “Whatever our two souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SONG LIST (with links)
> 
> 1\. Somebody Else - VÉRITÉ : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6bFk5MZ7b4  
> 2\. La Tortura - Shakira : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsp_8Lm1eSk  
> 3\. Somebody Told Me - The Killers : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4_1t5jjo4w  
> 4\. Prelude in E-Minor (op.28 no. 4) - Frédéric Chopin : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef-4Bv5Ng0w  
> 5\. The Bird and the Worm - The Used : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv9zDC5HaKs  
> 6\. Drink to Drown - Stand Atlantic : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC7-dJj1eY4  
> 7\. Easier to Run - Linkin Park : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou_aTbmz7zY


End file.
